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LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 

PRESENTED  BY 

ADMIRAL  MORGAN  POWELL 

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THE    HISTORY 


OF  THE 


FRENCH    REVOLUTION 


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THE  HISTORY 


OF    THE 


FRENCH    REVOLUTION 

1789-1800 


By  LOUIS  ADOLPHE  THIERS 

w 

TRANSLATED,    WITH    NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS,    FROM    THE    MOST 
AUTHENTIC   SOURCES,    BY 

FREDERICK    SHOBERL 


flew  Edition,  witb  upwar&s  of  jFortv?  illustrations  on  steel 
Engraves  In?  XMlflltam  ©reatbatcb 

IN  FIVE   VOLUMES 
VOL.  II. 


PHILADELPHIA 
•i.    P>.    LI  PPINCOTT    COM  PA  NY 

LONDON:  RICHARD  BENTLEY  AND  SON 

1894 


% 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME  II. 


Murder  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe    . 
Portrait  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe  . 
Portrait  of  Madame  Roland      .... 
Louis  XVI.  at  the  Convention  .... 
Last  Interview  of  Louis  XVI.  with  his  Family 

Portrait  of  Louis  XVI 

Portrait  of  Dumouriez        .... 

Triumph  of  Marat 

Portrait  of  Larochejaquelein    .... 


to  face  Title 
44 
74 
i  So 
214 
218 
2S4 
298 
312 


THE    HISTORY 


<>]•'   THE 


FRENCH    REVOLUTION. 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE 
ASSEMBLY. 

rPIIE  Swiss  had  courageously  defended  the  Tuileries,  but 
JL  their  resistance  had  proved  unavailing  :  the  great  stair- 
case had  been  stormed,  and  the  palace  taken.  The  people, 
thenceforward  victorious,  forced  their  way  on  all  sides  into 
this  abode  of  royalty,  to  which  they  had  always  attached  the 
notion  of  immense  treasures,  unbounded  felicity,  formidable 
powers,  and  dark  projects.  What  an  arrear  of  vengeance  to 
be  wreaked  at  once  upon  wealth,  greatness,  and  power  ! 

Eighty  Swiss  grenadiers,  who  had  not  had  time  to  retreat, 
vigorously  defended  their  lives,  and  were  slaughtered  without 
mercy.  The  mob  then  rushed  into  the  apartments  and  fell 
upon  those  useless  friends  who  had  assembled  to  defend  the 
King,  and  who,  by  the  name  of  Knights  of  the  Dagger,  had 
incurred  the  highest  degree  of  popular  rancour.  Their  im- 
potent weapons  served  only  to  exasperate  the  conquerors, 
and  to  give  greater  probability  to  the  plans  imputed  to  the 
Court.  Every  door  that  was  found  locked  was  broken  open. 
Two  ushers,  resolving  to  defend  the  entrance  to  the  greal 
council  chamber,  and  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  etiquette,  were 
instantly  butchered.  The  numerous  attendants  of  the  royal 
I'.-unik  lied  tumultuously  through  the  long  galleries,  threw 
themselves  from  the  windows,  or  sought  in  the  immense 
extent  of  the  palace  some  obscure  hiding-place  wherein  to 
save  their  lives.  The  Queen's  ladies  betook  themselves  to 
one    of    her   apartments,    and   expected   every   moment   to   be 

VOL.    II  29 


2  HIS  TOM  Y  OF  aug.  1792 

attacked  in  their  asylum.  By  direction  of  the  Princesse  de 
Tarentum,  the  doors  were  unlocked,  that  the  irritation  might 
not  be  increased  by  resistance.  The  assailants  made  their 
appearance  and  seized  one  of  them.  The  sword  was  already 
uplifted  over  her  head.  "  Spare  the  women  !  "  exclaimed  a 
voice  ;  "let  us  not  dishonour  the  nation  !  ':  At  these  words 
the  weapon  dropped  ;  the  lives  of  the  Queen's  ladies  were 
spared  ;  they  were  protected  and  conducted  out  of  the  palace 
by  the  very  men  who  were  on  the  point  of  sacrificing  them, 
and  who,  with  all  the  popular  fickleness,  now  escorted  them, 
and  manifested  the  most  ingenious  zeal  to  save  them. 

After  the  work  of  slaughter  followed  that  of  devastation. 
The  magnificent  furniture  was  dashed  in  pieces,  and  the  frag- 
ments scattered  far  and  wide.  The  rabble  penetrated  into 
the  private  apartments  of  the  Queen  and  indulged  in  the 
most  obscene  mirth.  They  pried  into  the  most  secret  recesses, 
ransacked  every  depository  of  papers,  broke  open  every  lock, 
and  enjoyed  the  twofold  gratification  of  curiosity  and  destruc- 
tion. To  the  horrors  of  murder  and  pillage  were  added  those 
of  conflagration.  The  flames,  having  already  consumed  the 
sheds  contiguous  to  the  outer  courts,  began  to  spread  to  the 
edifice,  and  threatened  that  imposing  abode  of  royalty  with 
complete  ruin.  The  desolation  was  not  confined  to  the  melan- 
choly circuit  of  the  palace  ;  it  extended  to  a  distance.  The 
streets  were  strewed  with  wrecks  of  furniture  and  dead  bodies. 
Every  one  who  fled,  or  was  supposed  to  be  fleeing,  was  treated 
as  an  enemy,  pursued,  and  fired  at.  An  almost  incessant  re- 
port of  musketry  succeeded  that  of  the  cannon,  and  was  every 
moment  the  signal  of  fresh  murders.  How  many  horrors  are 
the  attendants  of  victory,  be  the  vanquished,  the  conquerors, 
and  the  cause  for  which  they  have  fought,  who  and  what 
they  may  ! 

The  executive  power  being  abolished  by  the  suspension  of 
Louis  XVI.,  only  two  other  authorities  were  left  in  Paris — 
that  of  the  Commune  and  that  of  the  Assembly.  As  we  have 
seen  in  the  narrative  of  the  10th  of  August,  deputies  of  the 
sections  had  assembled  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  expelled  the 
former  magistrates,  seized  the  municipal  power,  and  directed 
the  insurrection  during  the  whole  night  and  day  of  the  10th. 
They  possessed  the  real  power  of  action.  They  had  all  the 
ardour  of  victory,  and  represented  that  new  and  impetuous 
revolutionary  class  which  had  struggled  during  the  whole 
session  against  the  inertness  of  the  other  more  enlightened 
but  less  active  class  of  men  of  which  the  Legislative  Assembly 
was  composed. 


AUG.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  3 

The  first  thing  the  deputies  of  the  sections  did,  was  to 
displace  all  the  high  authorities,  which,  being  closer  to  the 
supreme  power,  were  more  attached  to  it.  They  had  suspended 
the  staff  of  the  national  guard,  and  by  withdrawing  Mandat 
from  the  palace,  had  disorganized  its  defence.  Santerre  had 
been  invested  by  them  with  the  command  of  the  national 
guard.  They  had  been  in  not  less  haste  to  suspend  the 
administration  of  the  department,  which,  from  the  lofty  region 
wherein  it  was  placed,  had  continually  curbed  the  popular 
passions,  in  which  it  took  no  share. 

As  for  the  municipality,  they  had  suppressed  the  general 
council,  substituted  themselves  in  the  place  of  its  authority, 
and  merely  retained  Petion,  the  mayor,  Manuel,  the  procureur 
syndic,  and  the  sixteen  municipal  administrators.  All  this 
had  taken  place  during  the  attack  on  the  palace.  Danton 
had  audaciously  directed  that  stormy  sitting ;  and  when  the 
grape-shot  of  the  Swiss  had  caused  the  mob  to  fall  back  along 
the  cjuays,  he  had  gone  out,  saying,  "  Our  brethren  call  for 
aid ;  let  us  go  and  give  it  to  them."  His  presence  had  con- 
tributed to  lead  the  populace  back  to  the  field  of  battle,  and 
to  decide  the  victory. 

When  the  combat  was  over  it  was  proposed  that  Petion 
should  be  released  from  the  guard  placed  over  him,  and  rein- 
stated in  his  office  of  mayor.  Nevertheless,  either  from  real 
anxiety  for  his  safety,  or  from  fear  of  giving  themselves  too 
scrupulous  a  chief  during  the  first  moments  of  the  insurrection, 
it  had  been  decided  that  he  should  be  guarded  a  day  or  two 
longer,  under  pretext  of  putting  his  life  out  of  danger.  At 
the  same  time  they  had  removed  the  busts  of  Louis  XVI., 
Bailly,  and  Lafayette  from  the  hall  of  the  general  council. 
The  new  class  which  was  raising  itself  thus  displaced  the  first 
emblems  of  the  Revolution,  in  order  to  substitute  its  own  in 
their  stead. 

The  insurgents  of  the  commune  had  to  place  themselves  in 
communication  with  the  Assembly.  They  reproached  it  with 
wavering,  nay,  even  with  royalism ;  but  they  regarded  it  as 
the  only  existing  sovereign  authority,  and  were  not  at  all  dis- 
posed to  undervalue  it.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th  a  deputa- 
tion appeared  at  the  bar,  to  acquaint  it  with  the  formation  of 
the  insurrectional  commune,  and  to  state  what  had  been  done. 
Danton  was  one  of  the  deputies.  "The  people,  who  send  us 
to  you,"  said  he,  "  have  charged  us  to  declare  that  they  still 
think  you  worthy  of  their  confidence,  but  that  they  recognize 
no  other  judge  of  the  extraordinary  measures  to  which  necessity 
has  forced  theni  to  recur  than  the  French  nation,  our  sovereign 


4  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

and  yours,  convoked  in  the  primary  assemblies."  To  these 
deputies  the  Assembly  replied,  through  the  medium  of  its 
president,  that  it  approved  all  that  had  been  done,  and  that 
it  recommended  to  them  order  and  peace.  It  moreover  com- 
municated to  them  the  decrees  passed  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  and  begged  that  they  would  circulate  them.  After  this 
it  drew  up  a  proclamation  for  the  purpose  of  enjoining  the 
respect  due  to  persons  and  property,  and  commissioned  some 
of  its  members  to  convey  it  to  the  people. 

Its  first  attention  at  this  moment  was  naturally  directed 
to  the  supply  of  a  substitute  for  royalty,  which  had  been 
destroyed.  The  ministers,  assembled  under  the  name  of  the 
executive  council,  were  charged  by  it,  ad  interim,  with  the 
duties  of  the  administration  and  the  execution  of  the  laws. 
The  minister  of  justice,  the  keeper  of  the  seal  of  State,  was  to 
affix  it  to  the  decrees,  and  to  promulgate  them  in  the  name 
of  the  legislative  power.  It  was  then  requisite  to  select  the 
persons  who  should  compose  the  ministry.  The  first  idea  was 
to  reinstate  Roland,  Clavieres,  and  Servan,  who  had  been  re- 
moved on  account  of  their  attachment  to  the  popular  cause ; 
for  the  new  Revolution  could  not  but  favour  all  that  royalty 
had  disapproved.  Those  three  ministers  were  therefore  unani- 
mously reappointed :  Roland  to  the  interior,  Servan  to  the  war 
department,  and  Clavieres  to  the  finances.  It  was  requisite 
also  to  appoint  a  minister  of  justice,  of  foreign  affairs,  and  of 
the  marine.  Here  the  choice  was  free,  and  the  wishes  formerly 
conceived  in  favour  of  obscure  merit  and  patriotism,  ardent, 
and  for  that  reason  disagreeable  to  the  Court,  could  be  realized 
without  impediment.  Danton,  who  possessed  such  influence 
over  the  multitude,  and  who  had  exerted  it  with  such  effect 
during  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  was  deemed  necessary ;  and 
though  he  was  disliked  by  the  Girondins  as  a  delegate  of  the 
populace,  he  was  nominated  minister  of  justice  by  a  majority 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  votes  out  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty-four.  After  this  satisfaction  given  to  the  people,  and 
this  post  conferred  on  energy,  care  was  taken  to  place  a  man 
of  science  at  the  head  of  the  marine.  This  was  Monge,  the 
mathematician,  known  to  and  appreciated  by  Condorcet,  and 
chosen  at  his  suggestion.  Lastly,  Lebrun  *  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  foreign  affairs,  and  in  his  person  was  recompensed 
one  of  those  industrious  men  who  had  before  performed  all  the 
labour  of  which  the  ministers  reaped  the  honour. 

*  "  Lebrun  passed  for  a  prudent  man,  because  be  was  destitute  of  any  species 
of  enthusiasm ;  and  for  a  clever  man,  because  he  was  a  tolerable  clerk  ;  but  he 
had  no  activity,  no  talent,  and  no  decision." — Madame  Roland's  Memoirs. 


aug.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  5 

Having  thus  reconstituted  the  executive  power,  the  Assembly 
declared  that  all  the  decrees  to  which  Louis  XVI.  had  affixed 
his  veto  should  receive  the  force  of  law.  The  formation  of  a 
camp  below  Paris,  the  object  of  one  of  these  decrees,  and  the 
cause  of  such  warm  discussions,  was  immediately  ordered,  and 
the  gunners  were  authorized  that  very  day  to  commence 
esplanades  on  the  heights  of  Montmartre.  After  effecting  a 
revolution  in  Paris,  it  was  requisite  to  ensure  its  success  in 
the  departments,  and  above  all,  in  the  armies,  commanded  as 
they  were  by  suspected  generals.  Commissaries,  selected  from 
among  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  were  directed  to  repair 
tr>  the  provinces  and  to  the  armies,  to  enlighten  them  respect- 
ing the  events  of  the  10th  of  August ;  and  they  were  authorized 
to  remove,  in  case  of  need,  all  the  officers,  civil  and  military, 
and  to  appoint  others. 

A  few  hours  had  been  sufficient  for  all  these  decrees ;  and 
while  the  Assembly  was  engaged  in  passing  them,  it  was 
constantly  interrupted  by  the  necessity  of  attending  to  other 
matters.  The  valuables  carried  off  from  the  Tuileries  were 
deposited  within  its  precincts.  The  Swiss,  the  servants  of  the 
palace,  and  all  those  who  had  been  apprehended  in  their  flight, 
or  saved  from  the  fury  of  the  people,  were  conducted  to  its 
bar  as  to  a  sanctuary.  A  great  number  of  petitioners  came, 
one  after  another,  to  report  what  they  had  done  or  seen,  and 
1 1 1  relate  their  discoveries  concerning  the  supposed  plots  of  the 
Court.  Accusations  and  invectives  of  all  kinds  were  brought 
forward  against  the  royal  family,  which  heard  all  this  from  the 
narrow  space  to  which  it  was  confined.  That  place  was  the 
box  of  the  shorthand  writer.  Louis  XVI.  listened  with  com- 
])<  isure  to  all  the  speeches,  and  conversed  at  times  with  Verg- 
ni.'iiid  and  other  deputies,  who  were  placed  close  to  him.  SI111I 
ii])  there  for  fifteen  hours,  he  asked  for  some  refreshment, 
which  he  shared  with  his  wife  and  his  children;  and  this  cir- 
cumstance called  forth  ignoble  observations  on  the  fondness 
fur  the  table  which  had  been  imputed  to  him.  Every  one 
knows  how  far  victorious  parties  are  disposed  to  spare  mis- 
fortune. The  young  Dauphin  was  lying  on  his  mother's  lap, 
last  asleep,  overcome  by  the  oppressive  heat.  The  young 
Princess  and  Madame  Elizabeth,*  their  eyes  red  with  weeping, 
were  by  the  side  of  the  Queen.  At  the  back  of  the  box  were 
several  gentlemen  devotedly  attached  to  the  King,  who  had 
nol  abandoned  misfortune.  Fifty  men.  belonging  to  the  troops 
which   had   escorted  the  royal  family  from  the   palace   to  the 

*  Sec  Appendix  A. 


6  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

Assembly,  served  as  a  guard  for  this  spot,  from  which  the 
deposed  monarch  beheld  the  spoils  of  his  palace,  and  witnessed 
the  dismemberment  of  his  ancient  power,  and  the  distribution 
of  its  relics  among  the  various  popular  authorities. 

The  tumult  continued  to  rage  with  extreme  violence,  and 
in  the  opinion  of  the  people  it  was  not  sufficient  to  have 
suspended  royalty,  it  behoved  them  to  destroy  it.  Petitions 
on  this  subject  poured  in ;  and  while  the  multitude,  in  an  up- 
roar, waited  outside  the  hall  for  an  answer,  they  inundated 
the  avenues,  beset  the  doors,  and  twice  or  thrice  attacked 
them  with  such  violence  as  nearly  to  burst  them  open,  and 
to  excite  apprehensions  for  the  unfortunate  family  of  which 
the  Assembly  had  taken  charge.  Henri  Lariviere,  who  was 
sent,  with  other  commissioners,  to  pacify  the  people,  returned 
at  that  moment,  and  loudly  exclaimed,  '"Yes,  gentlemen,  I 
know  it.  I  have  seen  it ;  I  assure  you  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  is  determined  to  perish  a  thousand  times  rather  than 
disgrace  liberty  by  an  act  of  inhumanity  ;  and  most  assuredly 
there  is  not  one  person  here  present — and  everybody  must 
understand  me,"  he  added,  "who  cannot  rely  upon  French 
honour."  These  cheering  and  courageous  words  were  applauded. 
Vergniaud  spoke  in  his  turn,  and  replied  to  the  petitioners, 
who  insisted  that  the  suspension  should  be  changed  into  de- 
thronement. "I  am  gratified,"  said  he,  "that  I  am  furnished 
with  an  occasion  of  explaining  the  intention  of  the  Assembly 
in  presence  of  the  citizens.  It  has  decreed  the  suspension  of 
the  executive  power,  and  appointed  a  convention  which  is  to 
decide  irrevocably  the  great  question  of  the  dethronement.  In 
so  doing,  it  has  confined  itself  within  its  powers,  which  did 
not  allow  it  to  constitute  itself  the  judge  of  royalty ;  and  it 
has  provided  for  the  welfare  of  the  State  by  rendering  it 
impossible  for  the  executive  power  to  do  mischief.  It  has 
thus  satisfied  all  wants,  and  at  the  same  time  kept  within  the 
limits  of  its  prerogatives."  These  words  produced  a  favour- 
able impression,  and  the  petitioners  themselves,  pacified  by 
their  effect,  undertook  to  enlighten  and  to  appease  the  people. 

It  was  requisite  to  bring  this  long  sitting  to  a  close.  It 
was  therefore  ordered  that  the  effects  brought  from  the  palace 
should  be  deposited  with  the  commune  ;  that  the  Swiss  and 
all  other  persons  apprehended  should  either  be  guarded  at  the 
Feuillans  or  carried  to  different  prisons ;  lastly,  that  the  royal 
family  should  be  guarded  in  the  Luxembourg  till  the  meeting 
of  the  National  Convention,  but  that  while  the  necessary  pre- 
parations were  making  there  for  its  reception,  it  should  lodge 
in  the  building  appropriated  to  the  Assembly.    At  one  o'clock 


aug.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  7 

in  the  morning  of  Saturday  the  nth,  the  royal  family  was 
removed  to  the  quarters  which  had  been  prepared  for  them, 
and  which  consisted  of  four  cells  of  the  ancient  Feuillans. 
The  gentlemen  who  had  not  quitted  the  King  took  possession 
of  the  first,  the  King  of  the  second,  the  Queen,  her  sister,  and 
her  children,  of  the  two  others.  The  keeper's  wife  waited  on 
the  princesses,  and  supplied  the  place  of  the  numerous  train  of 
ladies  who  but  the  preceding  day  were  disputing  the  honour 
of  attending  upon  them. 

The  sitting  was  suspended  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Paris  was  still  in  an  uproar.  To  prevent  disturbance  the 
environs  of  the  palace  were  illuminated,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  citizens  were  under  arms. 

Such  had  been  that  celebrated  day,  and  the  results  which 
it  had  produced.  The  King  and  his  family  were  prisoners  at 
the  Feuillans ;  the  three  dismissed  ministers  were  reinstated 
in  their  functions ;  Danton,  buried  the  preceding  day  in  an 
obscure  club,  was  minister  of  justice ;  Petion  was  guarded  in 
his  own  residence,  but  to  his  name,  shouted  with  enthusiasm, 
was  added  the  appellation  of  Father  of  the  People.  Marat  had 
issued  from  the  dark  retreat  where  Danton  had  concealed  him 
during  the  attack,  and  now,  armed  with  a  sword,  paraded 
through  Paris  at  the  head  of  the  Marseilles  battalion.  Robe- 
spierre, who  has  not  been  seen  figuring  during  these  terrible 
scenes  —  Robespierre  was  haranguing  at  the  Jacobins,  and 
expatiating  to  some  of  the  members  who  remained  with  him 
on  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  victory,  and  on  the  necessity 
of  superseding  the  existing  Assembly,  and  of  impeaching 
Lafayette. 

The  very  next  day  it  was  found  necessary  again  to  consider 
how  to  pacify  the  excited  populace,  who  still  continued  to 
murder  such  persons  as  they  took  for  fugitive  aristocrats.  The 
Assembly  resumed  its  sitting  at  seven  in  the  morning.  The 
royal  family  was  replaced  in  the  shorthand  writer's  box,  that 
it  might  again  witness  the  decisions  about  to  be  adopted,  and 
th(>  scenes  that  were  to  occur  in  the  Legislative  Body.  Petion, 
liberated  and  escorted  by  a  numerous  concourse,  came  to  make 
a  report  of  the  state  of  Paris,  which  lie  had  visited,  and  where 
he  had  endeavoured  to  restore  tranquillity.  A  body  of  citizens 
had  united  to  protect  his  person.  Petion  was  warmly  received 
by  the  Assembly,  and  immediately  set  out  again  to  continue 
lus  pacific  exhortations.  The  Swiss  sent  the  preceding  day 
to  the  Feuillans  were  threatened.  The  mob,  with  loud  shouts, 
demanded  their  death,  calling  them  accomplices  of  the  palace 
and  murderers  of  the  people.     They  were  at  length  appeased 


8  HISTORY  OF  AUG.  1792 

by  the  assurance  that  the  Swiss  should  be  tried,  and  that 
a  court-martial  should  be  formed  to  punish  those  who  were 
afterwards  called  the  conspirators  of  the  10th  of  August.  "I 
move,"  cried  the  violent  Chabot,  "that  they  be  conducted  to 
the  Abbaye  to  be  tried.  ...  In  the  land  of  equality  the  law 
ought  to  smite  all  heads,  even  those  that  are  seated  on  the 
throne."  The  officers  had  already  been  removed  to  the  Abbaye, 
whither  the  soldiers  were  conveyed  in  their  turn.  This  was  a 
task  of  infinite  difficulty,  and  it  was  necessary  to  promise  the 
people  that  they  should  speedily  be  brought  to  trial. 

Already,  as  we  see,  did  the  idea  of  taking  revenge  on  all 
the  defenders  of  royalty,  and  punishing  them  for  the  dangers 
that  had  been  incurred,  possess  people's  minds  ;  and  it  was 
soon  destined  to  produce  cruel  dissensions.  In  following  the 
progress  of  the  insurrection,  we  have  already  remarked  the 
divisions  that  began  to  arise  in  the  popular  party.  We  have- 
already  seen  the  Assembly,  composed  of  sedate  and  cultivated 
men,  placed  in  opposition  to  the  clubs  and  the  municipalities, 
in  which  were  collected  men  inferior  in  education  and  in  talents, 
but  from  their  very  position,  their  less  dignified  manners,  their 
aspiring  ambition,  disposed  to  act  and  to  hurry  on  events.  We 
have  seen  that,  the  night  before  the  10th  of  August,  Chabot 
had  differed  in  opinion  from  Petion,  who,  in  unison  with  the 
majority  of  the  Assembly,  recommended  a  decree  of  dethrone- 
ment in  preference  to  an  attack  by  main  force.  Those  men 
who  had  been  advocates  for  the  utmost  possible  violence  were 
therefore  on  the  following  day,  in  presence  of  the  Assembly, 
proud  of  a  victory  won  almost  in  spite  of  that  body,  and 
reminding  it  with  expressions  of  equivocal  respect  that  it  had 
absolved  Lafayette,  and  that  it  must  not  again  compromise  the 
welfare  of  the  people  by  its  weakness.  They  filled  the  com- 
mune, where  they  were  mingled  with  ambitious  tradesmen, 
with  subaltern  agitators,  and  with  members  of  clubs.  They 
occupied  the  halls  of  the  Jacobins  and  the  Cordeliers,  and 
some  of  them  had  seats  on  the  extreme  benches  of  the  Legis- 
lative Body.  Chabot,  the  Capuchin,  the  most  ardent  of  them, 
passed  alternately  from  the  tribune  of  the  Assembly  to  that  of 
the  Jacobins,  constantly  holding  forth  threats  of  pikes  and  the 
tocsin. 

The  Assembly  had  voted  the  suspension,  and  the  clubs  were 
for  dethronement.  In  appointing  a  governor  for  the  Dauphin, 
the  former  had  presupposed  the  continuance  of  royalty,  and 
the  latter  were  for  a  republic.  The  majority  of  the  Assembly 
thought  that  it  behoved  it  to  make  an  active  defence  against 
foreigners,  but  to  spare  the  vanquished.     The  clubs,   on  the 


aug.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  9 

contrary,  maintained  that  it  was  right  not  only  to  defend  them- 
selves against  foreign  foes,  but  to  deal  severely  with  those 
who,  entrenched  in  the  palace,  had  intended  to  massacre  the 
people  and  to  bring  the  Prussians  to  Paris.  Rising  in  their 
ardour  to  extreme  opinions,  they  declared  that  there  was  no 
need  for  electoral  bodies  to  form  the  new  Assembly,  that  all 
the  citizens  ought  to  be  deemed  qualified  to  vote  ;  nay,  one 
Jacobin  even  proposed  to  give  political  rights  to  the  women. 
Lastly,  they  loudly  insisted  that  the  people  ought  to  come  in 
arms  to  manifest  their  wishes  to  the  Legislative  Body. 

Marat  excited  this  agitation  of  minds  and  provoked  people 
to  vengeance,  because  he  thought,  according  to  his  atrocious 
system,  that  France  recprired  purging.  Robespierre,  not  so 
much  from  a  system  of  purification,  nor  from  a  bloodthirsty 
disposition,  as  from  envy  of  the  Assembly,  excited  against  it 
reproaches  of  weakness  and  royalism.  Extolled  by  the  Jaco- 
bins, proposed  before  the  10th  of  August  as  the  dictator  who 
was  wanted,  he  was  now  proclaimed  as  the  most  eloquent  and 
the  most  incorruptible  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  people.* 
Danton.  taking  no  pains  either  to  gain  praise  or  to  gain  a 
hearing,  having  never  aspired  to  the  dictatorship,  had  never- 
theless decided  the  result  of  the  10th  of  August  by  his  boldness. 
Even  still  neglecting  all  display,  he  thought  only  of  ruling  the 
executive  council,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  by  controlling 
or  influencing  his  colleagues.  Incapable  of  hatred  or  envy,  he 
bore  no  ill-will  to  those  deputies  whose  lustre  eclipsed  Robe- 
spierre ;  but  he  neglected  them  as  inactive,  and  preferred  to 
them  those  bold  spirits  of  the  lower  classes  on  whom  he  relied 
more  for  maintaining  and  completing  the  Revolution. 

Nothing  was  yet  known  of  these  divisions,  especially  out  of 
I  'aris.  All  that  the  public  of  France  in  general  had  yet  per- 
ceived of  them  was  the  resistance  of  the  Assembly  to  wishes 
tli at  were  too  ardent,  and  the  acquittal  of  Lafayette,  pro- 
nounced in  spite  of  the  commune  and  the  Jacobins.  Put  all 
this  was  imputed  to  the  royalist  and  Feuillantine  majority. 
The  Girondins  were  still  admired.  Prissot  and  Robespierre 
were  equally  esteemed;  but  Petion,  in  particular,  was  adored, 
as  the  mayor  who  had  been  so  ill-treated  by  the  Court;  and  it 
was  not  known  that  Petion  appeared  too  moderate  to  Chabot, 
thai  he  wounded  the  pride  of  Robespierre,  that  he  was  re- 
garded as  an  honest  bul  useless  man  by  Danton,  and  as  a 
(•(inspirator  doomed  to  purification  by  Maral.       IVtion  therefore 

"When  speaking  at  the  clubs,  Robespierre  had  a  t rick  of  addressing  the 
people  in  such  honeyed  terms  as  ' Poor  people  ! ' — '  Virtuous  people  ! ' — which 
.never  failed  of  producing  an  effecj  on  his  ferocious  audience." — LaeretetteJ^ 


io  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

still  enjoyed  the  respect  of  the  multitude ;  but  like  Bailly, 
alter  the  14th  of  July,  he  was  destined  soon  to  become  trouble- 
some and  odious  by  disapproving  the  excesses  which  he  was 
unable  to  prevent. 

The  principal  coalition  of  the  new  revolutionists  was  formed 
at  the  Jacobins  and  the  commune.  All  that  was  to  be  done 
was  proposed  and  discussed  at  the  Jacobins ;  and  the  same 
persons  then  went  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  to  execute,  by  means 
of  their  municipal  powers,  what  they  could  only  plan  in  their 
club.  The  general  council  of  the  commune  composed  of  itself 
a  kind  of  assembly,  as  numerous  as  the  Legislative  Body,  having 
its  tribunes,  its  bureaux,  its  much  more  tumultuous  plaudits, 
and  a  power  de  facto  much  more  considerable.  The  mayor  was 
its  president,  and  the  procureur  syndic  was  the  official  speaker, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  make  all  the  necessary  requisitions. 
1'etion  had  already  ceased  to  appear  there,  and  confined  his 
attention  to  the  supply  of  the  city  with  provisions.  Manuel, 
the  procureur,  suffering  himself  to  be  borne  along  by  the  re- 
volutionary billows,  raised  his  voice  there  every  day.  But  the 
person  who  most  swayed  this  assembly  was  Robespierre.  Keep- 
ing aloof  during  the  first  three  days  that  followed  the  10th  of 
August,  he  had  repaired  thither  after  the  insurrection  had 
been  consummated,  and  appearing  at  the  bureau  to  have  his 
powers  verified,  he  seemed  rather  to  take  possession  of  it  than 
to  come  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  his  titles.  His  pride,  so 
far  from  creating  displeasure,  only  increased  the  respect  that 
was  paid  him.  His  reputation  for  talents,  incorruptibility,  and 
perseverance,  made  him  a  grave  and  respectable  personage, 
whom  these  assembled  tradesmen  were  proud  of  having  among 
them.  Until  the  Convention,  to  which  he  was  sure  of  belong- 
ing, should  meet,  he  came  thither  to  exercise  a  more  real  power 
than  that  of  opinion,  which  he  enjoyed  at  the  Jacobins. 

The  first  care  of  the  commune  was  to  get  the  police  into 
its  hands ;  for  in  time  of  civil  war  to  imprison  and  to  per- 
secute enemies  is  the  most  important  and  the  most  envied 
of  powers.  The  justices  of  peace,  charged  with  the  exercise 
of  it  in  part,  had  given  offence  to  public  opinion  by  their 
proceedings  against  the  popular  agitators ;  and  either  from 
sentiment,  or  from  a  necessity  imposed  by  their  functions, 
they  had  set  themselves  in  hostility  against  the  patriots. 
It  was  recollected,  in  particular,  that  one  of  them  had,  in 
the  affair  of  Bertrand  de  Molleville  and  Carra,  the  journalist, 
dared  to  summon  two  deputies.  The  justices  of  the  peace 
were  therefore  removed,  and  such  of  their  functions  as  related 
to  the  police  were   transferred  to  the   municipal   authorities. 


AUG.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  1  1 

In  unison,  in  this  instance,  with  the  commune  of  Paris,  the 
Assembly  decreed  that  the  police,  called  the  police  of  general 
safety,  should  be  assigned  to  the  departments,  districts,  and 
municipalities.  It  consisted  in  inquiring  into  all  misde- 
meanours threatening  the  internal  and  external  welfare  of 
the  State,  in  making  a  list  of  the  citizens  suspected  for  their 
opinions  or  their  conduct,  in  apprehending  them  for  a  time, 
and  in  even  dispersing  and  disarming  them  if  it  were 
necessary.  It  was  the  councils  of  the  municipalities  that 
performed  these  duties  ;  and  the  entire  mass  of  the  citizens 
Avas  thus  called  upon  to  watch,  to  denounce,  and  to  secure 
the  hostile  party.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  how  active,  but 
rigorous  and  arbitrary,  this  police,  thus  democratically  exer- 
cised, must  have  been.  The  entire  council  received  the 
denunciation,  and  a  committee  of  surveillance  examined  it. 
and  caused  the  accused  to  be  apprehended.  The  national 
guards  were  in  permanent  requisition,  and  the  municipalities 
of  all  towns  containing  more  than  twenty  thousand  souls 
had  power  to  add  particular  regulations  to  this  law  of 
general  safety.  Assuredly  the  Legislative  Assembly  had  no 
notion  that  it  was  thus  paving  the  way  to  the  sanguinary 
executions  which  not  long  afterwards  took  place ;  but  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  at  home  and  abroad,  it  called  upon  all 
the  citizens  to  watch  them,  as  it  had  called  upon  them  all 
to  attend  to  the  civil  administration,  and  to  fight. 

The  commune  of  Paris  eagerly  availed  itself  of  these  new 
powers,  and  caused  many  persons  to  be  apprehended.  Here 
we  see  the  conquerors,  still  exasperated  by  the  dangers  of 
the  preceding  day  and  the  still  greater  dangers  of  the 
morrow,  seizing  their  enemies,  now  cast  down,  but  likely 
soon  to  rise  again  by  the  aid  of  foreigners.  The  com- 
mittee of  surveillance  of  the  commune  of  Paris  was  com- 
posed of  the  most  violent  men.  Marat,  who  in  the  Revolution 
had  made  such  audacious  attacks  on  persons,  was  at  the  head 
of  this  committee ;  and  in  such  an  office  he  of  all  men  was 
most  to  be  dreaded. 

Besides  this  principal  committee,  the  commune  of  Paris 
instituted  a  particular  one  in  each  section.  It  ordered 
that  passports  should  not  be  delivered  till  after  the  de- 
liberation of  the  assemblies  of  sections ;  that  travellers 
should  be  accompanied,  either  to  the  municipality  or  to  the 
gates  of  l';ii'is,  by  two  witnesses,  who  should  attest  the 
identity  of  the  person  who  had  obtained  the  passport  with 
him  who  made  use  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  departing.  It 
thus  strove,  by  all  possible  means,  to  prevent  the  escape  of 


12  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

suspected  persons  under  fictitious  names.  It  then  directed 
a  list  of  the  enemies  of  the  Revolution  to  be  made,  and 
enjoined  the  citizens,  in  a  proclamation,  to  denounce  all 
who  had  shared  in  the  guilt  of  the  10th  of  August.  It 
ordered  those  writers  who  had  supported  the  royal  cause 
to  be  apprehended,  and  gave  their  presses  to  patriotic 
writers.  Marat  triumphantly  obtained  the  restitution  of 
four  presses,  which,  he  said,  had  been  taken  from  him  by 
order  of  the  traitor  Lafayette.  Commissioners  went  to  the 
prisons  to  release  those  who  were  confined  for  shouts  or  lan- 
guage hostile  to  the  Court.  Lastly,  the  commune,  always 
ready  to  interfere  in  everything,  sent  deputies,  after  the 
example  of  the  Assembly,  to  enlighten  and  to  convert  the 
army  of  Lafayette,  which  excited  some  uneasiness. 

To  the  commune  was  assigned,  moreover,  a  last  and  not 
least  important  duty — the  custody  of  the  royal  family.  The 
Assembly  had  at  first  ordered  its  removal  to  the  Luxembourg  ; 
but  upon  the  observation  that  this  palace  was  difficult  to 
guard,  it  had  preferred  the  hotel  of  the  ministry  of  justice. 
Hut  the  commune,  which  had  already  in  its  hands  the  police 
of  the  capital,  and  which  considered  itself  as  particularly 
charged  with  the  custody  of  the  King,  proposed  the  Temple, 
and  declared  that  it  could  not  answer  for  his  safe  custody 
unless  the  tower  of  that  ancient  abbey  were  selected  for  bis 
dwelling.  The  Assembly  assented,  and  committed  the  cus- 
tody of  the  illustrious  prisoners  to  the  mayor,  and  Santerre, 
the  commandant-general,  upon  their  personal  responsibility. 
Twelve  commissioners  of  the  general  council  were  to  keep 
watch  without  interruption  at  the  Temple.  It  had  been  con- 
verted by  outworks  into  a  kind  of  fortress.  Numerous  detach- 
ments of  the  national  guard  alternately  formed  the  garrison, 
and  no  person  was  allowed  to  enter  without  permission  from 
the  municipality.  The  Assembly  had  decreed  that  five  hundred 
thousand  francs  should  be  taken  from  the  treasury  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  royal  family  till  the  approaching  meeting 
of  the  National  Convention. 

The  functions  of  the  commune  were,  as  we  see,  very  exten- 
sive. Placed  in  the  centre  of  the  State  where  the  great  powers 
are  exercised,  and  impelled  by  its  energy  to  do  of  its  own 
accord  whatever  seemed  to  it  to  be  too  gently  done  by  the 
high  authorities,  it  was  hurried  into  incessant  encroachments. 
The  Assembly,  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  it  within 
certain  limits,  ordered  the  re-election  of  a  new  departmental 
council,  to  succeed  that  which  had  been  dissolved  on  the  day 
of  the  insurrection.     The   commune,   perceiving  that  it  was 


AUG.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  13 

threatened  with  the  yoke  of  a  superior  authority,  which  would 
probably  restrain  its  flights  as  the  former  department  had 
done,  was  incensed  at  this  decree,  and  ordered  the  sections  to 
suspend  the  election  which  had  already  commenced.  Manuel, 
the  procureur  syndic,  was  immediately  despatched  from  the 
Hotel  de  Mile  to  the  Feuillans,  to  present  the  remonstrances 
of  the  municipality. 

"  The  delegates  of  the  citizens  of  Paris,"  said  he,  "  have 
need  of  unlimited  powers.  A  new  authority  placed  between 
them  and  you  would  only  serve  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dissension. 
It  is  recjuisite  that  the  people,  in  order  to  deliver  themselves 
from  that  power  destructive  to  their  sovereignty,  should  once 
more  arm  themselves  with  their  vengeance." 

Such  was  the  menacing  language  which  men  already  had  the 
hardihood  to  address  to  the  Assembly.  The  latter  complied 
with  the  demand  ;  and  whether  it  believed  it  to  be  impossible 
or  imprudent  to  resist,  or  that  it  considered  it  to  be  dan- 
gerous to  fetter  at  that  moment  the  energy  of  the  commune, 
it  decided  that  the  new  council  should  have  no  authority  over 
the  municipality,  and  be  nothing  more  than  a  commission  of 
finance,  charged  with  the  superintendence  of  the  public  con- 
tributions in  the  department  of  the  Seine. 

Another  more  serious  question  engaged  the  public  mind, 
and  served  to  demonstrate  more  forcibly  the  difference  of 
sentiment  prevailing  between  the  commune  and  the  Assembly. 
The  punishment  of  those  who  had  fired  upon  the  people,  and 
who  were  ready  to  show  themselves  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
should  draw  near,  was  loudly  demanded.  They  were  called 
by  turns  "the  conspirators  of  the  10th  of  August,"  and  "the 
traitors."  The  court-martial  appointed  on  the  nth  to  try  the 
Swiss  did  not  appear  sufficient,  because  its  powers  were  limited 
to  the  prosecution  of  the  Swiss  soldiers.  The  criminal  tribunal 
of  the  Seine  was  thought  to  be  fettered  by  too  slow  formalities, 
and  besides,  all  the  authorities  anterior  to  the  10th  of  August 
wire  suspected.  The  commune  therefore  prayed  the  erection 
of  a  tribunal  which  should  be  empowered  to  take  cognizance  of 
the  crimes  of  the  10th  of  August,  and  have  sufficient  latitude  to 
reach  all  who  were  called  the  traitors.  The  Assembly  referred 
the  petition  to  the  extraordinary  commission  appointed  in  the 
month  of  July  to  propose  the  means  of  safety. 

On  the  14th  a  fresh  deputation  of  the  commune  was  sent 
bo  flie  Legislative  Body,  to  demand  the  decree  relative  to 
the  extraordinary  tribunal,  declaring  that  as  it  was  not  yet 
passed  tliey  were  directed  to  wait  for  it.  Gaston,  the  deputy, 
addressed  some  severe  observations  to  this  deputation,  which 


1 4  HISTOR  Y  OF  aug.  1792 

withdrew.  The  Assembly  persisted  in  refusing-  to  create  an 
extraordinary  tribunal,  and  merely  assigned  to  the  estab- 
lished tribunals  the  cognizance  of  the  crimes  of  the  10th  of 
August. 

At  this  intelligence  violent  agitation  spread  through  Paris. 
The  section  of  the  Quinze-Vingts  repaired  to  the  general 
council  of  the  commune,  and  intimated  that  the  tocsin  would 
be  rung  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  if  the  decree  applied 
for  were  not  immediately  passed.  The  general  council  then 
sent  a  fresh  deputation,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Eobespierre. 
He  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  municipality,  and  made  the  most 
insolent  remonstrances  to  the  deputies.  "  The  tranquillity  of 
the  people,"  said  he,  "  depends  on  the  punishment  of  the 
guilty,  and  yet  you  have  done  nothing  to  reach  them.  Your 
decree  is  insufficient.  It  does  not  explain  the  nature  and  the 
extent  of  the  crimes  to  be  punished,  for  it  specifies  only  the 
crimes  of  the  10th  of  August,  and  the  crimes  of  the  enemies  of 
the  Revolution  extend  far  beyond  the  10th  of  August  and 
Paris.  With  such  an  expression  the  traitor  Lafayette  would 
escape  the  vengeance  of  the  law.  As  for  the  form  of  the 
tribunal,  the  people  can  no  longer  tolerate  that  which  you 
have  retained.  The  twofold  degree  of  jurisdiction  causes 
numberless  delays,  and  besides,  all  the  old  authorities  are 
suspected ;  new  ones  are  required ;  it  is  necessary  that  the 
tribunal  demanded  be  composed  of  deputies  taken  from  the 
sections,  and  that  it  be  empowered  to  try  the  guilty,  sove- 
reignly, and  without  appeal." 

This  imperative  petition  appeared  still  more  harsh  from  the 
tone  of  Robespierre.  The  Assembly  answered  the  people  of 
Paris  in  an  address,  in  which  it  rejected  any  proposal  for  an 
extraordinary  commission  and  chambre  ardente  as  unworthy  of 
liberty,  and  fit  only  for  despotism. 

These  reasonable  observations  produced  no  effect.  They 
served  only  to  increase  the  irritation.  Nothing  was  talked 
of  in  Paris  but  the  tocsin  ;  and  the  very  next  day  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  commune  appeared  at  the  bar,  and  said  to 
the  Assembly,  "As  a  citizen,  as  a  magistrate  of  the  people,  I 
come  to  inform  you  that  at  twelve  o'clock  this  night  the  tocsin 
will  be  rung  and  the  alarm  beaten.  The  people  are  weary  of 
not  being  avenged.  Beware  lest  they  do  themselves  justice. 
I  demand,"  added  the  audacious  petitioner,  "  that  you  forthwith 
decree  that  a  citizen  be  appointed  by  each  section  to  form  a 
criminal  tribunal." 

This  threatening  apostrophe  roused  the  Assembly,  and 
particularly  the  deputies  Choudieu  and  Thuriot,  who  warmly 


aug.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.      •  15 

reprimanded  the  envoy  of  the  commune.  A  discussion,  how- 
ever, ensued,  and  the  proposal  of  the  commune,  strongly 
supported  by  the  hot-headed  members  of  the  Assembly,  was 
at  length  converted  into  a  decree.  An  electoral  body  was  to 
assemble,  to  choose  the  members  of  an  extraordinary  tribunal 
destined  to  take  cognizance  of  crimes  committed  on  the  10th 
of  August,  and  other  crimes  and  circumstances  connected  ivith  it. 
This  tribunal,  divided  into  two  sections,  was  to  pronounce 
sentence  finally  and  without  appeal.  Such  was  the  first  essay 
of  the  revolutionary  tribunal,  and  the  first  spur  given  by 
vengeance  to  the  forms  of  justice.  This  tribunal  was  called 
the  tribunal  of  the  17th  of  August. 

The  effect  produced  on  the  armies  by  the  recent  revolution, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  had  received  the  decrees  of  the 
ioth,  were  still  unknown.  This  was  the  most  important 
point,  and  the  fate  of  the  new  revolution  depended  upon  it. 
The  frontier  was  still  divided  into  three  armies — the  army 
of  the  North,  the  army  of  the  centre,  and  the  army  of  the 
South.  Luckner  commanded  the  first,  Lafayette  the  second, 
and  Montesquiou  the  third.  Since  the  unfortunate  affairs 
at  Mons  and  Tournay,  Luckner,  urged  by  Dumouriez,  had 
again  attempted  the  offensive  against  the  Netherlands,  but 
had  retreated,  and  in  evacuating  Courtray,  had  burned  the 
suburbs,  which  was  made  a  serious  charge  against  the  ministry 
the  day  before  the  dethronement.  The  armies  had  since  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  complete  inactivity,  living  in  entrenched 
camps,  and  confining  themselves  to  slight  skirmishes.  Du- 
mouriez, after  resigning  the  ministry,  had  gone  as  lieutenant- 
general  under  Luckner,  and  been  unfavourably  received  by 
the  army,  where  the  spirit  of  Lafayette's  party  predominated. 
Luckner,  wholly  under  this  influence  for  a  moment,  sent 
Dumouriez  to  one  of  these  camps,  that  of  Maulde,  and  there 
left  him,  witli  a  small  number  of  troops,  to  amuse  himself  with 
entrenchments  and  skirmishes. 

Lafayette,  wishing,  amidst  the  dangers  that  encompassed 
the  King,  to  be  nearer  to  Paris,  had  been  desirous  of  taking 
the  command  of  the  North.  He  was  nevertheless  unwilling 
to  quit  his  troops,  by  whom  he  was  greatly  beloved,  and  he 
agreed  with  Luckner  to  change  positions,  each  with  his  divi- 
sion, and  to  decamp,  the  one  for  the  North,  the  other  for  the 
centre.  This  operation  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy  might 
have  been  attended  with  danger,  if,  very  luckily,  the  war  had 
not  been  so  completely  inactive.  Luckner  had  therefore  re- 
paired to  Metz.  and  Lafayette  to  Sedan.  During  this  cross 
movement,    Dumouriez,  who   was   directed  to  follow  with    his 


1 6  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

little  corps  the  army  of  Luckner,  to  which  he  belonged,  halted 
suddenly  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  who  had  threatened  to 
attack  him  :  and  he  was  obliged  to  remain  in  his  camp  lest  he 
should  lay  open  the  entry  to  Flanders  to  the  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Teschen.  He  assembled  the  other  generals  who  occupied 
separate  camps  near  him  ;  he  concerted  with  Dillon,*  who 
came  up  with  a  portion  of  Lafayette's  army,  and  insisted  on 
a  council  of  war  at  Valenciennes,  for  the  purpose  of  justify- 
ing, by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  his  disobedience  to  Luckner. 
Meanwhile  Luckner  had  arrived  at  Metz,  and  Lafayette  at 
Sedan  ;  and  but  for  the  events  of  the  10th  of  August,  Dumou- 
riez  would  probably  have  been  put  under  arrest,  and  brought 
to  a  military  trial  for  his  refusal  to  advance. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  armies  when  they  received 
tidings  of  the  overthrow  of  the  throne.  The  first  point  to 
which  the  Legislative  Assembly  turned  its  attention  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  send  three  commissioners  to  carry  its 
decrees,  and  to  make  the  troops  take  the  new  oath.  The 
three  commissioners  on  their  arrival  at  Sedan  were  received 
by  the  municipality,  which  had  orders  from  Lafayette  to 
cause  them  to  be  apprehended.  The  mayor  questioned  them 
concerning  the  scene  of  the  10th  of  August,  recprired  an 
account  of  all  the  circumstances,  and  declared,  agreeably  to 
the  secret  instructions  which  he  had  received  from  Lafayette, 
that  evidently  the  Legislative  Assembly  was  no  longer  free 
when  it  decreed  the  suspension  of  the  King  ;  that  its  com- 
missioners were  but  the  envoys  of  a  factious  cabal;  and 
that  they  should  be  put  in  confinement  in  the  name  of  the 
constitution.  They  were  actually  imprisoned,  and  Lafayette, 
to  exonerate  those  who  executed  his  order,  took  upon  himself 
the  sole  responsibility.  Immediately  afterwards  he  caused 
his  army  to  take  anew  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  law  and  to 
the  King,  and  ordered  the  same  to  be  done  by  all  the  corps 
under  his  command.  He  reckoned  upon  seventy-five  depart- 
ments, which  had  adhered  to  his  letter  of  the  16th  of  June, 
and  he  purposed  to  attempt  a  contrary  movement  to  that 
of  the  1  Oth  of  August.  Dillon,  who  was  at  Valenciennes, 
under  the  orders  of  Lafayette,  and  who  held  a  superior  com- 
mand to  Dumouriez,  obeyed  his  general-in-chief,  caused  the 
oath  of  fidelity  to  the  law  and  to  the  King  to  be  taken,  and 
enjoined  Dumouriez  to  do  the  same  in  his  camp  at  Maulde. 
Dumouriez,  judging  more  correctly  of  the  future,  and  exas- 
perated, moreover,  against  the  Feuillans,  under  whose  control 

*  See  Appendix  B. 


AUG.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  17 

he  was,  seized  the  occasion  to  resist  them,  and  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  new  government,  by  refusing  either  to  take 
the  oath  himself,  or  to  allow  it  to  be  taken  by  his  troops. 

On  the  17th,  the  very  day  on  which  the  new  tribunal  was 
so  simultaneously  established,  a  letter  arrived,  stating  that 
the  commissioners  sent  to  the  army  of  Lafayette  had  been 
apprehended  by  his  orders,  and  that  the  legislative  authority 
was  denied.  This  intelligence  produced  more  irritation  than 
alarm.  The  outcry  against  Lafayette  was  more  vehement  than 
ever.  His  accusation  was  demanded,  and  the  Assembly  was 
reproached  with  not  having  ordered  it  before.  A  decree  was 
instantly  passed  against  the  department  of  the  Ardennes  ; 
fresh  commissioners  were  despatched  with  the  same  powers 
as  their  predecessors,  and  with  directions  to  cause  the  three 
prisoners  to  be  liberated.  Other  commissioners  were  sent  to 
Dillon's  army.  On  the  morning  of  the  19th  the  Assembly 
declared  Lafayette  a  traitor  to  the  country,  and  passed  a 
decree  of  accusation  against  him. 

The  circumstance  was  serious,  and  if  this  resistance  were  not 
overcome,  the  new  revolution  would  prove  abortive.  France, 
divided  between  the  republicans  in  the  interior  and  the  con- 
stitutionalists of  the  army,  would  be  exposed  to  invasion  and 
to  a  terrible  reaction.  Lafayette  could  not  but  detest  in  the 
revolution  of  the  10th  of  August  the  abolition  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  1 79 1,  the  accomplishment  of  all  his  aristocratic  pro- 
phecies, and  the  justification  of  all  the  reproaches  which  the 
Court  addressed  to  liberty.  In  this  victory  of  democracy  he 
must  have  beheld  nothing  but  a  sanguinary  anarchy  and  an 
endless  confusion.  For  us  this  confusion  has  had  an  end,  and 
our  soil  at  least  has  been  defended  against  foreigners  ;  but  to 
Lafayette  the  future  was  unknown  and  alarming  ;  the  defence 
of  the  soil  was  scarcely  to  be  presumed  amidst  political  con- 
vulsions ;  and  he  could  not  but  feel  a  desire  to  withstand  this 
chaos  by  arming  himself  against  the  two  foes  within  and 
without.  But  his  position  was  beset  with  difficulties  which  it 
would  have  been  beyond  the  power  of  any  man  to  surmount. 
His  army  was  devoted  to  him ;  but  armies  have  no  personal 
will,  and  cannot  have  any  but  what  is  communicated  to  them 
1>\  th<>  superior  authority.  When  a  revolution  bursts  forth 
with  the  violence  of  that  of  1789,  then,  hurried  blindly  on, 
they  desert  the  old  authority,  because  the  new  impulse  is  the 
si  rnnger  of  the  two.  But  this  was  not  the  case  in  this  instance. 
Lafayette,  proscribed,  stricken  by  a  decree,  could  not  by  his 
mere  military  popularity  excite  his  troops  against  the  autho- 
rity of  the  interior,  and  by  his  personal  energy  counteract  the 

vol.  11.  30 


1 8  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  aug.  1792 

revolutionary  energy  of  Paris.  Placed  between  two  enemies, 
and  uncertain  respecting  his  duty,  lie  could  not  but  hesitate. 
The  Assembly,  on  the  contrary,  not  hesitating,  sending  decree 
after  decree,  and  supporting  each  by  energetic  commissioners, 
could  not  fail  to  triumph  over  the  hesitation  of  the  general, 
and  to  decide  the  army.  Accordingly  the  troops  of  Lafayette 
were  successively  shaken,  and  appeared  to  be  forsaking  him. 
The  civil  authorities,  being  intimidated,  yielded  to  the  new 
commissioners.  The  example  of  Dumouriez,  who  declared 
himself  in  favour  of  the  revolution  of  the  10th  of  August, 
completed  the  defection  ;  and  the  opposing  general  was  left 
alone  with  his  staff,  composed  of  Feuillans  or  constitutional 
officers. 

Bouille\  whose  energy  was  not  doubtful,  Dumouriez,  whose 
great  talents  could  not  be  disputed,  could  not  do  otherwise 
at  different  periods,  and  were  obliged  to  betake  themselves 
to  flight.  Lafayette  was  destined  to  be  equally  unfortunate. 
Writing  to  the  different  civil  authorities  which  had  seconded 
him  in  his  resistance,  he  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  the  orders  issued  against  the  commissioners  of  the  Assembly, 
and  left  his  camp  on  the  20th  of  August,  with  a  few  officers, 
his  friends  and  his  companions  in  arms  and  in  opinion.  He 
was  accompanied  by  Bureaux  de  Pusy,  Latour-Maubourg,  and 
Lameth.  They  quitted  the  camp,  taking  with  them  only  a 
month's  pay,  and  were  followed  by  a  few  servants.  Lafayette 
left  everything  in  order  in  his  army,  and  had  taken  care  to 
make  the  necessary  dispositions  in  case  of  attack.  He  sent 
back  some  horse  who  attended  him,  that  he  might  not  rob 
France  of  one  of  her  defenders  ;  and  on  the  2 1  st  he  and  his 
friends  took  the  road  to  the  Netherlands.  On  reaching  the 
Austrian  advanced  posts,  after  a  journey  which  had  exhausted 
their  horses,  these  first  emigrants  of  liberty  were  arrested, 
contrary  to  the  right  of  nations,  and  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war.  Great  was  the  joy  when  the  name  of  Lafayette  rang 
in  the  camp  of  the  allies,  and  it  was  known  that  he  was  a 
captive  to  the  aristocratic  league.  To  torment  one  of  the 
first  friends  of  the  Revolution,  to  have  a  pretext  for  imputing 
to  the  Revolution  itself  the  persecution  of  its  first  authors,  and 
to  behold  the  fulfilment  of  all  its  predicted  excesses,  diffused 
general  satisfaction  among  the  European  aristocracy.* 

*  "Lafayette  was  under  the  necessity  of  observing  the  greatest  secrecy  in  his 
departure,  in  order  to  avoid  increasing  the  number  of  his  companions  in  exile, 
who  consisted  only  of  Latour-Maubourg  and  his  two  brothers,  Bureaux  de  Pusy, 
his  aides-de-camp,  and  staff  officers  in  the  Parisian  national  guard,  and  some 
friends,  exposed  to  certain  death  in  consequence  of  their  participation  in  his 
last  efforts  against  anarchy.    Fifteen  officers  of  different  ranks  accompanied  him. 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 9 

Lafayette  claimed  for  himself  and  his  friends  that  liberty 
which  was  their  right,  but  to  no  purpose.  He  was  offered 
it  on  condition  of  recanting,  not  all  his  opinions,  but  only 
one  of  them — that  relative  to  the  abolition  of  nobility.  He 
refused,  threatening  even,  in  case  his  words  should  be  falsely 
interpreted,  to  give  a  formal  contradiction  before  a  public 
officer.  He  therefore  accepted  fetters  as  the  price  of  his 
constancy ;  and  even  when  he  looked  upon  liberty  as  lost  in 
Europe  and  in  France,  his  mind  continued  unshaken,  and 
he  never  ceased  to  consider  freedom  as  the  most  valuable  of 
blessings.  This  he  still  professed,  both  towards  the  oppressors 
who  detained  him  in  their  dungeons,  and  towards  his  old 
friends  who  remained  in  France.*  "  Continue,"  he  wrote 
to  the  latter,  "  continue  to  love  liberty,  in  spite  of  its  storms, 
and  serve  your  country."  Let  us  compare  this  defection  with 
that  of  Bouille,  quitting  his  country  to  return  with  the  hostile 
sovereigns ;  with  that  of  Dumouriez,  quarrelling,  not  from 
conviction  but  from  spite,  with  the  Convention  which  he 
had  served :  and  we  shall  do  justice  to  the  man  who  did 
not  leave  France  till  the  truth  in  which  he  believed  was  pro- 
scribed there,  and  who  went  neither  to  curse  nor  to  disavow 
it  in  the  enemy's  armies,  but  still  continued  to  profess  and 
maintain  it  in  dungeons. 

Let  us  not,  however,  cast  too  severe  censure  on  Dumouriez, 
whose  memorable  services  we  shall  soon  have  occasion  to  ap- 
preciate. This  flexible  and  clever  man  had  a  just  presentiment 
of  the  nascent  power.  After  he  had  made  himself  almost  in- 
dependent by  his  refusal  to  obey  Luckner,  and  to  leave  his 
camp  at  Maulde,  after  he  had  refused  to  take  the  oath  ordered 
by  Dillon,  he  was  immediately  recompensed  for  his  attachment 
by  the  chief  command  of  the   armies   of  the   North  and  the 

On  arriving  at  Rochefort,  where  the  party  (considerably  reduced  in  number) 
were  stopped,  Bureaux  de  Pusy  was  compelled  to  go  forward  and  obtain  a  pass 
from  General  Moitelle,  in  command  at  Nanmr.  He  set  out  accordingly ;  but 
before  lie  could  utter  a  syllable  of  explanation,  that  general  exclaimed,  'What, 
Lafayette?  Lafayette?  Run  instantly  and  inform  the  Due  de  Bourbon  of  it. 
Lafayette  ?  Set  out  this  moment,'  addressing  one  of  his  officers,  'and  carry  this 
news  to  his  royal  highness  at  Brussels;'  and  on  he  went,  muttering  to  himself 
the  word  '  Lafayette.'  It  was  not  until  he  had  given  orders  to  write  to  all  the 
princes  and  generals  he  could  think  of,  that  Pusy  could  put  in  his  request  for  a 
pass,  which  was  of  course  refused." — Lafayette's  Memoirs. 

*  "  Eowever  irritated  they  might  be  by  Lafayette's  behaviour  at  the  outset  of 
tli''  Revolution,  the  present  conduct  of  the  monarchs  towards  him  was  neither 
to  be  vindicated  by  morality,  the  law  of  nations,  nor  the  rules  of  sound  policy. 
Even  if  In'  hid  been  amenable  for  a  crime  against  his  own  country,  we  know  not 
what  right  Austria  or  Prussia  had  to  take  cognizance  of  it.  To  them  he  was  a 
mere  prisoner  of  war,  and  nothing  further.  It  is  very  seldom  that  a  petty,  vin- 
dictive line  of  policy  accords  with  the  real  interest  either  of  great  princes  or  of 
private  individuals." — Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 


2  o  HIST  OR  Y  OF  aug.  i  7  9  2 

centre.  Dillon,  brave,  impetuous,  but  blind,  was  at  first  dis- 
placed for  having  obeyed  Lafayette  ;  but  he  was  reinstated  in 
his  command  through  the  influence  of  Dumouriez,  who,  anxious 
to  reach  his  goal,  and  to  injure  as  few  persons  as  possible  in 
his  progress,  became  his  warm  advocate  with  the  commissioners 
of  the  Assembly.  Dumouriez  therefore  found  himself  general- 
in-chief  of  the  whole  frontier  from  Metz  to  Dunkirk.  Luckner 
was  at  Metz,  with  his  army,  formerly  the  army  of  the  North. 
Swayed  at  first  by  Lafayette,  he  had  shown  resistance  to  the 
ioth  of  August;  but  soon  giving  way  to  his  army  and  to  the 
commissioners  of  the  Assembly,  he  acquiesced  in  the  decrees, 
and  after  once  more  weeping,  he  yielded  to  the  new  impulse 
that  was  communicated  to  him. 

The  ioth  of  August  and  the  advance  of  the  season  were 
motives  sufficient  to  decide  the  coalition  at  length  to  push  the 
war  with  vigour.  The  dispositions  of  the  powers  in  regard  to 
France  were  not  changed.  England,  Holland,  Denmark,  and 
Switzerland  still  promised  a  strict  neutrality.  Sweden,  since 
the  death  of  Gustavus,  had  sincerely  adopted  a  similar  course. 
The  Italian  principalities  were  most  inimical  to  us,  but  for- 
tunately quite  impotent.  Spain  had  not  yet  spoken  out,  but 
continued  to  be  distracted  by  conflicting  intrigues.  Thus 
there  were  left,  as  decided  enemies,  Russia  and  the  two  prin- 
cipal Courts  of  Germany.  But  Russia  as  yet  went  no  further 
than  unfriendly  demonstrations,  and  confined  herself  to  send- 
ing away  our  ambassador.  Prussia  and  Austria  alone  carried 
their  arms  to  our  frontiers.  Among  the  German  States  there 
were  but  the  three  ecclesiastical  electors,  and  the  landgraves 
of  the  two  Hesses,  that  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  coali- 
tion. The  others  waited  till  they  should  be  compelled  to  do  so. 
In  this  state  of  things  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand 
men,  excellently  organized  and  disciplined,  threatened  France, 
which  could  oppose  to  them  at  the  utmost  but  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand,  spread  over  an  immense  frontier,  not 
forming  a  sufficient  mass  at  any  point,  deprived  of  their 
officers,  feeling  no  confidence  in  themselves  or  their  leaders, 
and  having  as  yet  experienced  nothing  but  checks  in  the  war 
of  posts  which  they  had  maintained. 

The  plan  of  the  coalition  was  to  invade  France  boldly,  pene- 
trating by  the  Ardennes,  and  proceeding  by  Chalons  towards 
Paris.  The  two  sovereigns  of  Prussia  and  Austria  had  repaired 
in  person  to  Mayence.  Sixty  thousand  Prussians,  heirs  to  the 
traditions  and  the  glory  of  the  great  Frederick,  advanced  in  a 
single  column  upon  our  centre.  They  marched  by  Luxem- 
bourg upon  Longwy.    Twenty  thousand  Austrians,  commanded 


aug.  1 7  9  2       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2 1 

by  General  Clairfayt,  supported  them  on  the  right  by  occupy- 
ing Stenay.  Sixteen  thousand  Austrians  commanded  by  the 
Prince  of  Hohenlohe-Kirchberg,  and  ten  thousand  Hessians, 
flanked  the  left  of  the  Prussians.  The  Duke  of  Saxe-Teschen 
occupied  the  Netherlands  and  threatened  the  fortresses.  The 
Prince  de  Conde,  with  six  thousand  French  emigrants,  had 
proceeded  towards  Philipsbourg.  Several  other  corps  of  emi- 
grants were  attached  to  the  different  Prussian  and  Austrian 
armies.  The  Foreign  Courts  which,  in  collecting  the  emigrants, 
were  still  desirous  to  prevent  their  acquiring  too  much  influence, 
had  at  first  intended  to  blend  them  with  the  German  regiments, 
but  had  at  length  consented  to  suffer  them  to  form  distinct 
corps,  yet  distributed  among  the  allied  armies.  These  corps 
were  full  of  officers  who  had  condescended  to  become  privates, 
and  they  formed  a  brilliant  body  of  cavalry,  which,  however, 
was  more  capable  of  displaying  great  valour  on  the  day  of 
peril  than  of  supporting  a  long  campaign. 

The  French  armies  were  disposed  in  the  most  unsuitable 
manner  for  withstanding  such  a  mass  of  forces.  Three 
generals,  Beurnonville,  Moreton,  and  Duval,  commanded  a 
total  of  thirty  thousand  men  in  three  separate  camps,  Maulde, 
.Maubeuge,  and  Lille.  These  were  the  whole  of  the  French 
resources  on  the  frontier  of  the  North  and  of  the  Low  Countries. 
Lafayette's  army,  twenty-three  thousand  strong,  disorganized 
by  the  departure  of  its  general,  and  weakened  by  the  utmost 
uncertainty  of  sentiment,  was  encamped  at  Sedan.  Dumouriez 
was  going  to  take  the  command  of  it.  Luckner's  army,  com- 
posed of  twenty  thousand  men,  occupied  Metz,  and  like  all 
the  others,  had  just  had  a  new  general  given  to  it,  namely, 
Kf 'Hermann.*  The  Assembly,  dissatisfied  with  Luckner,  had 
nevertheless  resolved  not  to  dismiss  him  ;  but  whilst  trans- 
ferring  his  command  to  Kellermann.  it  had  assigned  to  him. 
with  the  title  of  generalissimo,  the  duty  of  organizing  the  new 
army  of  reserve,  and  the  purely  honorary  function  of  counsel- 
ling the  generals.  There  remain  to  be  mentioned  Custine, 
who  with  fifteen  thousand  men  occupied  Landau,  and  lastly, 
Biron,  who,  posted  in  Alsace  with  thirty  thousand  men,  was 
too  far  from  the  principal  theatre  of  the  war  to  influence  the 
issue  of  the  campaign. 

The  only  two  corps  placed  on  the  track  pursued  by  the 
grand  army  of  the  allies  were  the  twenty-three  thousand  men 
forsaken  by  Lafayette,  and  Kellermamfs  twenty  thousand 
Stationed   around    Met/..       If   the   grand   invading    army,    con- 

*  See  Appendix  C. 


22  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

forming  its  movements  to  its  object,  had  marched  rapidly  upon 
Sedan,  while  the  troops  of  Lafayette,  deprived  of  their  general, 
were  a  prey  to  disorder,  and  not  having  yet  been  joined  by 
Dumouriez,  were  without  unity  and  without  direction,  the 
principal  defensive  corps  would  have  been  overwhelmed,  the 
Ardennes  would  have  been  opened,  and  the  other  generals 
would  have  been  obliged  to  fall  back  rapidly  for  the  purpose 
of  concentrating  themselves  behind  the  Marne.  Perhaps  they 
would  not  have  had  time  to  come  from  Lille  and  Metz  to 
Chalons  and  Rheims.  In  this  case  Paris  would  have  been 
uncovered,  and  the  new  government  would  have  had  nothing 
left  but  the  absurd  scheme  of  a  camp  below  Paris,  or  flight 
beyond  the  Loire. 

But  if  France  defended  herself  with  all  the  disorder  of  a 
revolution,  the  foreign  powers  attacked  with  all  the  uncer- 
tainty and  discordance  of  views  that  characterize  a  coalition. 
The  King  of  Prussia,  intoxicated  with  the  idea  of  an  easy 
conquest,  nattered  and  deceived  by  the  emigrants,  who  repre- 
sented the  invasion  to  him  as  a  mere  military  promenade, 
wished  it  to  be  conducted  with  the  boldest  expedition.  But 
there  was  still  too  much  prudence  at  his  side,  in  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick,  to  allow  his  presumption  to  have  at  least  the 
happy  effect  of  audacity  and  promptness.  The  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick, who  saw  that  the  season  was  far  advanced,  the  country 
very  differently  disposed  from  what  the  emigrants  had  repre- 
sented, who  moreover  judged  of  the  revolutionary  energy  by 
the  insurrection  of  the  10th  of  August,  thought  that  it  would 
be  better  to  secure  a  solid  base  of  operations  on  the  Moselle 
by  laying  siege  to  Metz  and  Thionville,  and  deferring  till  the 
next  spring  the  recommencement  of  the  war  with  the  advan- 
tage of  the  preceding  conquests.  This  struggle  between  the 
precipitancy  of  the  sovereign  and  the  prudence  of  the  general, 
and  the  tardiness  of  the  Austrians,  who  sent  under  the  com- 
mand of  Prince  Hohenlohe  but  eighteen  thousand  men  instead 
of  fifty,  prevented  any  decisive  movement.  The  Prussian 
army,  however,  continued  to  march  towards  the  centre,  and 
was  on  the  20th  before  Longwy,  one  of  the  most  advanced 
fortresses  of  that  frontier. 

Dumouriez,  who  had  always  been  of  opinion  that  an  invasion 
of  the  Netherlands  would  cause  a  revolution  to  break  out 
there,  and  that  this  diversion  would  save  France  from  the 
attacks  of  Germany,  had  made  every  preparation  for  advancing 
ever  since  the  day  on  which  he  received  his  commission  as 
general-in-chief  of  the  two  armies.  He  was  already  on  the 
point    of   taking   the    offensive    against   the    Prince  of  Saxe- 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  2  3 

Teschen,  when  Westermann,  who  had  been  so  active  on  the 
10th  of  August,  and  was  afterwards  sent  as  commissioner  to 
the  army  of  Lafayette,  came  to  inform  him  of  what  was  pass- 
ing on  the  theatre  of  the  great  invasion.  On  the  22nd,  Longwy 
had  opened  its  gates  to  the  Prussians,  after  a  bombardment  of 
a  few  hours,  in  consequence  of  the  disorder  of  the  garrison  and 
the  weakness  of  the  commandant.  Elated  with  this  conquest 
and  the  capture  of  Lafayette,  the  Prussians  were  more  favour- 
ably disposed  than  ever  towards  the  plan  of  a  prompt  offensive. 
The  army  of  Lafayette  would  be  undone  if  the  new  general 
did  not  go  to  inspire  it  with  confidence  by  his  presence,  and  to 
direct  its  movements  in  a  useful  manner. 

Dumouriez  therefore  relinquished  his  favourite  plan,  and 
repaired  on  the  25th  or  26th  to  Sedan,  where  his  presence 
at  first  excited  nothing  but  animosity  and  reproaches  among 
the  troops.  He  was  the  enemy  of  Lafayette,  who  was  still 
beloved  by  them.  He  was,  moreover,  supposed  to  be  the 
author  of  that  unhappy  war,  because  it  had  been  declared 
during  his  administration.  Lastly,  he  was  considered  as  a  man 
possessing  much  greater  skill  in  the  use  of  the  pen  than  of  the 
sword.  This  language  was  in  the  mouths  of  all  the  soldiers, 
and  frequently  reached  the  ear  of  the  general.  He  was  not 
disconcerted  by  it.  He  began  by  cheering  the  troops,  by 
affecting  a  firm  and  tranquil  countenance,  and  soon  made 
them  aware  of  the  influence  of  a  more  vigorous  command.* 
Still  the  situation  of  twenty-three  thousand  disorganized  men 
in  presence  of  eighty  thousand  in  a  state  of  the  highest  dis- 
cipline was  most  discouraging.  The  Prussians,  after  taking 
Longwy,  had  blockaded  Thionville,  and  were  advancing  upon 
Verdun,  which  was  much  less  capable  of  resistance  than  the 
fortress  of  Longwy. 

The  generals,  called  together  by  Dumouriez,  were  all  of 
opinion  that  they  ought  not  to  wait  for  the  Prussians  at  Sedan, 
but  to  retire  rapidly  behind  the  Marne,  to  entrench  themselves 
there  in  the  best  manner  possible,  to  wait  for  the  junction  of 
the  other  armies,  and  thus  cover  the  capital,  which  would  be 
but  forty  leagues  distant  from  the  enemy.  They  all  thought 
that  if  they  should  suiter  a  defeat  in  attempting  to  resist 
the  invasion,  the  overthrow  would  be  complete,  that  the  dis- 
comfited army  would  not  stop  between  Sedan  and  Paris,  and 
that  the  Prussians  would  march  directly  thither  at  a  conqueror's 


,:  "Dumouriez,  who  up  to  this  time  had  played  hut  a  subordinate  military 
part,  very  much  surpassed  any  expectations  thai  could  have  been  formed  of  him. 
He  displayed  a  greal  deal  of  talent  and  enlarged  views  :  and  fur  some  little  time 
his  patriotism  was  estimated  by  his  success." — Lafayette's  Memoirs. 


2  4  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  aug.  i  7  9  2 

pace.  Such  was  our  military  situation,  and  the  opinion  which 
our  generals  entertained  of  it. 

The  notions  formed  at  Paris  on  the  subject  were  not  more 
favourable,  and  the  irritation  increased  with  the  danger.  Mean- 
while that  immense  capital,  which  had  never  seen  an  enemy 
in  its  bosom,  and  which  formed  an  idea  of  its  strength  pro- 
portionate to  its  extent  and  its  population,  could  scarcely  con- 
ceive it  possible  for  a  foe  to  penetrate  within  its  walls.  It  had 
much  less  dread  of  the  military  peril,  which  it  did  not  perceive, 
and  which  was  still  at  a  distance  from  it,  than  the  peril  of  a 
reaction  on  the  part  of  the  royalists,  who  were  quelled  for  the 
moment.  Whilst  on  the  frontiers  the  generals  saw  nothing 
but  the  Prussians  ;  in  the  interior,  people  saw  nothing  but 
the  aristocrats  secretly  conspiring  to  destroy  liberty.  They 
said  that,  to  be  sure,  the  King  was  a  prisoner,  but  his  party 
nevertheless  existed,  and  that  it  was  conspiring,  as  before 
the  loth  of  August,  to  open  Paris  to  the  foreigners.  They 
figured  to  themselves  all  the  great  houses  in  the  capital  filled 
with  armed  assemblages  ready  to  sally  forth  at  the  first  signal, 
to  deliver  Louis  XVI.,  to  seize  the  chief  authoritv,  and  to 
consign  France,  without  defence,  to  the  sword  of  the  emigrants 
and  of  the  allies.  This  correspondence  between  the  internal 
and  the  external  enemy  engrossed  all  minds.  It  behoves  us, 
it  was  said,  to  rid  ourselves  of  traitors ;  and  already  the 
horrible  idea  of  sacrificing  the  vanquished  was  conceived — 
an  idea  which  with  the  majority  was  only  a  movement  of 
imagination,  but  which  by  some  few  only,  either  more  .blood- 
thirsty, more  hot-headed,  or  more  powerfully  impelled  to 
action,  could  be  converted  into  a  real  and  meditated  plan. 

We  have  already  seen  that  it  was  proposed  to  avenge  the 
people  for  the  blows  inflicted  upon  them  on  the  10th,  and 
that  a  violent  quarrel  had  arisen  between  the  Assembly  and 
the  commune  on  the  subject  of  the  extraordinary  tribunal. 
This  tribunal,  to  which  Dangremont,  and  the  unfortunate 
Laporte,  intendant  of  the  civil  list,  had  already  fallen  victims, 
did  not  act  with  sufficient  despatch  according  to  the  notions 
of  a  furious  and  heated  populace,  who  beheld  enemies  on 
every  side.  It  demanded  forms  more  expeditious  for  punish- 
ing traitors,  and  above  all,  it  insisted  on  the  trial  of  the  persons 
transferred  to  the  high  court  at  Orleans.  These  were,  for  the 
most  part,  ministers  and  high  functionaries  accused,  as  we 
have  seen,  of  malversation.  Delessart,  minister  for  foreign 
affairs,  was  among  the  number.  Outcries  were  raised  on  all 
sides  against  the  tardiness  of  the  proceedings  :  the  removal 
of  the  prisoners  to  Paris,  and  their  immediate  trial  by  the 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  5 

tribunal  of  the  17th  of  August,  were  required.  The  Assembly 
being  consulted  on  this  point,  or  rather  summoned  to  comply 
with  the  general  wish,  and  to  pass  a  decree  for  the  transfer, 
had  made  a  courageous  resistance.  The  high  national  court 
was,  it  alleged,  a  constitutional  establishment,  which  it  could 
not  change,  because  it  did  not  possess  the  constituent  powers, 
and  because  it  was  the  right  of  every  accused  person  to  be 
tried  only  according  to  anterior  laws.  This  question  had  been 
raised  afresh  by  hosts  of  petitioners  ;  and  the  Assembly  had 
at  once  to  resist  an  ardent  minority,  the  commune,  and  the 
tumultuous  sections.  It  had  merely  accelerated  some  of  the 
formalities  of  the  proceedings,  but  decreed  that  the  persons 
accused  before  the  high  court  should  remain  at  Orleans,  and 
not  be  withdrawn  from  the  jurisdiction  which  the  constitution 
had  ensured  to  them. 

Thus,  then,  two  opinions  were  formed  :  one  which  held  that 
it  was  right  to  spare  the  vanquished  without  exerting  less 
energy  against  foreigners ;  the  other,  which  insisted  that  all 
secret  enemies  ought  to  be  sacrificed  before  people  went  to 
meet  the  armed  enemies  who  were  advancing  towards  Paris. 
This  latter  was  not  so  much  an  opinion  as  a  blind  and  ferocious 
sentiment,  compounded  of  fear  and  rage,  and  which  was  destined 
to  increase  with  the  danger. 

The  Parisians  were  the  more  irritated  the  greater  was  the 
peril  for  their  city — the  focus  of  all  the  insurrections,  and  the 
principal  goal  to  which  the  march  of  the  hostile  armies  tended. 
They  accused  the  Assembly,  composed  of  deputies  of  the 
departments,  of  an  intention  to  retire  to  the  provinces.  The 
Girondins,  in  particular,  who  chiefly  belonged  to  the  provinces 
of  the  South,  and  formed  that  moderate  majority  which  was 
odious  to  the  commune,  were  accused  of  a  wish  to  sacrifice  the 
capital,  out  of  hatred  to  it.  In  this  instance  a  sentiment  was 
attributed  to  them  which  they  would  have  been  justified  in 
harbouring.  But  the  greater  number  of  them  loved  their 
country  and  their  cause  too  sincerely  to  think  of  leaving  Paris. 
They  had,  it  is  true,  always  been  of  opinion  that  if  the  North 
were  lost,  they  could  fall  back  upon  the  South  ;  and  at  this  very 
moment  some  of  them  deemed  it  prudent  to  remove  the  seat 
of  government  to  the  other  side  of  the  Loire  ;  but  no  such  desire 
as  to  sacrifice  a  hated  city,  and  to  transfer  the  governmenl 
to  places  where  they  would  be  its  masters,  ever  entered  their 
hearts.  They  were  too  high-minded,  they  were,  moreover,  still 
too  powerful,  and  they  reckoned  too  much  on  the  meeting  of  the 
approaching  Convention,  to  think  so  soon  of  forsaking  Paris. 

Thus  they  were  charged  at   once   with   indulgence  towards 


26  HISTORY  OF  aug.  1792 

traitors,  and  with  indifference  to  the  interests  of  the  capital. 
Having  to  contend  with  the  most  violent  men,  they  could  do 
nothing,  even  though  they  had  numbers  and  reason  on  their 
side,  but  succumb  to  the  activity  and  the  energy  of  their 
adversaries.  In  the  executive  council  they  were  five  to  one, 
for  besides  the  three  ministers,  Servan,  Clavieres,  and  Eoland, 
selected  from  among  them,  the  last  two,  Monge  and  Lebrun, 
were  likewise  of  their  choice.  But  Danton,  who,  without  being 
their  personal  enemy,  had  neither  their  moderation  nor  their 
opinions  —  Danton  *  singly  swayed  the  council,  and  deprived 
them  of  all  influence.  While  Clavieres  was  striving  to  collect 
some  financial  resources,  Servan  bestirring  himself  to  procure 
reinforcements  for  the  generals,  and  Roland  despatching  the 
most  discreet  circulars  to  enlighten  the  provinces,  to  direct  the 
local  authorities,  to  prevent  their  encroachments  on  power,  and 
to  check  violence  of  every  kind,  Danton  was  busily  engaged  in 
placing  all  his  creatures  in  the  administration.  He  sent  his 
faithful  Cordeliers  to  all  parts,  and  thus  attached  to  himself 
numerous  supporters,  and  procured  for  his  friends  a  share  in 
the  profits  of  the  Revolution.  Influencing  or  alarming  his 
colleagues,  he  found  no  obstacle  but  in  the  inflexible  principles 
of  Roland,  who  frequently  refused  assent  to  the  measures  or 
subjects  which  he  proposed.  Danton  was  vexed  at  this,  though 
he  did  not  break  with  Roland,  and  he  strove  to  carry  as  many 
appointments  or  decisions  as  he  possibly  could. 

Danton,  whose  real  sway  was  in  Paris,  was  anxious  to  retain 
it,  and  fully  determined  to  prevent  any  removal  beyond  the 
Loire.  Endued  with  extraordinary  boldness,  having  proclaimed 
the  insurrection  on  the  night  preceding  the  10th  of  August, 
when  every  one  else  still  hesitated,  he  was  not  a  man  to 
recede,  and  he  thought  that  it  behoved  him  and  his  colleagues 
to  sacrifice  themselves  in  the  capital.  Master  of  the  council, 
connected  with  Marat  and  the  committee  of  surveillance  of  the 
commune,  haranguing  in  all  the  clubs,  living,  in  short,  amidst 
the  mob  as  in  an  element  which  he  agitated  at  pleasure, 
Danton  was  the  most  powerful  man  in  Paris  ;  and  that  power, 
founded  on  a  violent  disposition,  which  brought  him  into  con- 
tact with  the  passions  of  the  people,  could  not  but  be  formi- 
dable to  the  vancpiished.     In  his  revolutionary  ardour  Danton 

*  "Roland  and  Clavieres  formed  a  sort  of  party  in  the  council,  and  were 
supported  by  Brissot  and  the  Bordeaux  members  in  the  Assembly,  and  by  Petion 
and  Manuel  in  the  municipality.  Servan,  Monge,  and  Lebrun  dared  not  have 
an  opinion  of  their  own.  But  the  man  among  them  who  struck  the  greatest 
terror — the  man  who,  with  a  frown  or  a  single  glance  of  his  scowling  eye,  made 
all  his  colleagues  tremble — was  Danton,  minister  in  the  law  department.  Terror 
was  the  weapon  he  employed." — Peltier. 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  27 

inclined  to  all  the  ideas  of  vengeance  which  the  Girondins 
repelled.  He  was  the  leader  of  that  Parisian  party  which  said 
of  itself,  ';  We  will  not  recede.  We  will  perish  in  the  capital 
and  beneath  its  ruins,  but  our  enemies  shall  perish  before 
us."  Thus  were  horrible  sentiments  engendered  in  minds,  and 
horrible  scenes  were  soon  to  be  their  frightful  consequences. 

On  the  26th  the  tidings  of  the  capture  of  Longwy  spread 
with  rapidity,  and  caused  a  general  agitation  in  Paris.  People 
disputed  all  day  on  its  probability ;  at  length  it  could  be  no 
longer  contested,  and  it  became  known  that  the  place  had 
opened  its  gates  after  a  bombardment  of  a  few  hours.  The 
ferment  excited  was  such  that  the  Assembly  decreed  the 
penalty  of  death  against  any  one  who  should  propose  to  sur- 
render in  a  besieged  place.  On  the  demand  of  the  commune 
it  was  decreed  that  Paris  and  the  neighbouring  departments 
should  furnish  within  a  few  days  thirty  thousand  men  armed 
and  equipped.  The  prevailing  enthusiasm  rendered  it  easy  to 
raise  this  number,  and  the  number  served  to  dispel  the  appre- 
hensions of  danger.  It  was  impossible  to  suppose  that  one 
hundred  thousand  Prussians  could  subdue  several  millions  of 
men  who  were  determined  to  defend  themselves.  The  works 
at  the  camp  near  Paris  were  carried  on  with  renewed  activity, 
and  the  women  assembled  in  the  churches  to  assist  in  preparing 
necessaries  for  the  encampment. 

Danton  repaired  to  the  commune,  and  at  his  suggestion  re- 
course was  had  to  extreme  means.  It  was  resolved  to  make  a 
list  of  all  the  indigent  persons  in  the  sections,  and  to  give 
them  pay  and  arms.  It  was,  moreover,  determined  to  disarm 
and  apprehend  all  suspicious  persons  ;  and  all  who  had  signed 
the  petition  against  the  20th  of  June,  and  against  the  decree 
for  the  camp  below  Paris,  were  reputed  such.  In  order  to  effect 
this  disarming  and  apprehension,  the  plan  of  domiciliary  visits 
was  conceived   and   executed  in  the  most  frightful  manner.* 

*  "Let  the  reader  fancy  to  himself  a  vast  metropolis,  the  streets  of  which 
were  a  few  clays  before  alive  with  the  concourse  of  carriages,  and  with  citizens 
constantly  passing  and  repassing — let  him  fancy  to  himself,  I  say,  streets,  so 
populous  and  so  animated,  suddenly  struck  with  the  dead  silence  of  the  grave, 
before  sunset,  on  a  fine  summer  evening.  All  the  shops  are  shut ;  everybody 
retires  into  the  interior  of  his  house,  trembling  for  life  and  property  ;  all  are  in 
fearful  expectation  of  the  events  of  a  night  in  which  even  the  efforts  of  despair 
air  not  likely  to  afford  the  least  resource  to  any  individual.  The  sole  object  of 
the  domiciliary  visits,  it  is  pretended,  is  to  search  for  arms,  yet  the  barriers  are 
shut  and  guarded  with  the  strictest  vigilance,  and  lioats  are  stationed  on  the 
river,  at  regular  distances,  filled  with  armed  men.  Every  one  supposes  himself 
to  be  informed  against.  Everywhere  persons  and  property  are  put  into  conceal- 
ment. Everywhere  are  heard  the  interrupted  sounds  of  the  muffled  hammer, 
with  cautious  knock  completing  the  hiding-place.  Roofs,  garrets,  sinks,  chim- 
neys—  all  are  just  the  same  to  fear,  incapable  of  calculating  any  risk.     One 


2  8  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  aug.  1792 

The  barriers  were  to  be  closed  for  forty-eight  hours,  from  the 
evening  of  the  29th,  and  no  permission  to  leave  the  city  upon 
any  account  whatever  was  to  be  granted.  Guard-ships  were 
stationed  on  the  river  to  prevent  any  escape  by  that  outlet. 
The  surrounding  communes  were  directed  to  stop  every  person 
they  should  find  in  the  fields  or  on  the  roads.  The  drum  was 
to  announce  the  visits,  and  at  this  signal  every  person  was 
required  to  repair  to  his  home  upon  pain  of  being  treated  as 
one  suspected  of  seditiously  assembling  if  found  in  the  house 
of  another.  For  this  reason  all  the  sectional  assemblies  and 
the  great  tribunal  itself  were  to  suspend  their  meetings  for 
those  two  days.  Commissioners  of  the  commune,  assisted  by 
the  armed  force,  were  empowered  to  pay  these  visits,  to  seize 
arms,  and  to  apprehend  suspected  persons,  that  is  to  say,  the 
signers  of  all  the  petitions  already  mentioned,  the  nonjuring 
priests,  such  citizens  as  should  be  guilty  of  falsehood  in  their 
declarations,  those  against  whom  there  were  denunciations, 
ivc.  At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  streets  were  to  be 
cleared  of  all  carriages,  and  the  city  was  to  be  illuminated 
during  the  whole  night. 

Such  were  the  measures  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  appre- 
hending, it  was  said,  the  had  citizens  who  had  concealed  them- 
selves since  the  10th  of  August.  These  visits  were  begun  on  the 
evening  of  the  29th,  and  any  one,  incurring  the  denunciation 
of  another,  was  liable  to  be  thrown  into  the  prisons.  All  who 
had  belonged  to  the  late  Court,  either  by  office,  or  by  rank,  or 
by  attendance  at  the  palace — all  who  had  declared  themselves 
in  its  favour  during  the  various  royalist  movements — all  who 
had  base  enemies,  capable  of  revenging  themselves  by  a  de- 
nunciation, were  consigned  to  the  prisons,  to  the  number  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  persons !  It  was  the  committee  of 
surveillance  of  the  commune  which  superintended  these  appre- 
hensions, and  caused  them  to  be  executed  before  its  eyes. 
Those  who  were  apprehended  were  first  taken  from  their  abode 
to  the  committee  of  their  section,  and  from  this  committee  to 

man,  squeezed  up  behind  the  wainscot  which  has  been  nailed  back  on  him, 
seems  to  form  a  part  of  the  wall ;  another  is  suffocated  with  fear  and  heat 
between  two  mattresses ;  a  third,  rolled  up  in  a  cask,  loses  all  sense  of  exist- 
ence by  the  tension  of  his  sinews.  Apprehension  is  stronger  than  pain.  Men 
tremble,  but  they  do  not  shed  tears  ;  the  heart  shivers,  the  eye  is  dull,  and  the 
breast  contracted.  Women  on  this  occasion  display  prodigies  of  tenderness  and 
intrepidity.  It  was  by  them  that  most  of  the  men  were  concealed.  It  was  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the  domiciliary  visits  began.  Patrols,  consisting 
of  sixty  pike  men,  were  in  every  street.  The  nocturnal  tumult  of  so  many  armed 
men  ;  the  incessant  knocks  to  make  people  open  their  doors ;  the  crash  of  those 
that  were  burst  off  their  hinges ;  and  the  continual  uproar  and  revelling  which 
took  place  throughout  the  night  in  all  the  public-houses,  formed  a  picture  which 
will  never  be  effaced  from  my  memory." — Peltier. 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  29 

that  of  the  commune.  There  they  were  briefly  questioned 
respecting  their  sentiments  and  the  acts  which  proved  their 
greater  or  less  energy.  They  were  frequently  examined  by 
a  single  member  of  the  committee,  while  the  other  members, 
exhausted  with  watching  for  several  successive  days  and  nights, 
were  sleeping  upon  the  chairs  or  the  tables.  The  persons 
apprehended  were  at  first  carried  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and 
afterwards  distributed  among  the  different  prisons  in  which 
any  room  was  left.  Here  were  confined  all  the  advocates  of 
those  various  opinions  which  had  succeeded  one  another  till 
the  10th  of  August,  all  the  ranks  which  had  been  overthrown, 
and  plain  tradesmen,  who  were  already  deemed  as  great  aristo- 
crats as  dukes  and  princes. 

Terror  pervaded  all  Paris.  It  prevailed  alike  among  the 
republicans,  threatened  by  the  Prussian  armies,  and  among  the 
royalists,  threatened  by  the  republicans.  The  committee  of 
general  defence,  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  consider  the 
means  of  resisting  the  enemy,  met  on  the  30th,  and  solicited 
the  attendance  of  the  executive  council,  for  the  purpose  of 
deliberating  with  it  on  the  means  of  the  public  welfare.  The 
meeting  was  numerous,  because  the  members  of  the  committee 
were  joined  by  a  multitude  of  deputies  who  wished  to  be  pre- 
Bent  at  this  sitting.  Various  plans  were  suggested.  Servan, 
the  minister,  had  no  confidence  in  the  armies,  and  did  not 
think  it  possible  for  Dumouriez  to  stop  the  Prussians  with  the 
twenty-three  thousand  men  left  him  by  Lafayette.  He  con- 
ceived that  between  them  and  Paris  there  was  no  position  of 
sufficient  strength  to  make  head  against  them  and  to  check 
their  march.  All  coincided  with  him  on  this  point,  and  after 
it  had  been  proposed  that  the  whole  population  in  arms  should 
be  collected  under  the  walls  of  Paris,  in  order  to  combat  there 
with  desperation,  it  was  suggested  that  the  Assembly  should 
retire  in  case  of  emergency  to  Saumur,  to  place  a  wider  space 
and  fresh  obstacles  between  the  enemy  and  the  depositaries  of 
the  national  sovereignty.  Vergniaud  and  Guadet  opposed  the 
idea  of  quitting  Paris.     They  were  followed  by  Danton. 

"It  is  proposed."  said  he,  "that  you  should  quit  Paris.  You 
are  well  aware  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  enemy  Paris  repre- 
sents Prance,  and  that  to  cede  this  point  is  to  abandon  the 
Revolution  to  them.  If  we  give  way  we  are  undone.  We 
must  therefore  maintain  our  ground  by  all  possible  means, 
and  save  ourselves  by  audacity. 

"Among  the  means  proposed  none  seems  to  me  decisive. 
We  must  not  disguise  from  ourselves  the  situation  in  which 
we  are  placed  by  the  10th  of  August.     It  has  divided  us  into 


30  HISTORY  OF  atjg.  1792 

royalists  and  republicans.  The  former  are  very  numerous,  the 
latter  far  from  it.  In  this  state  of  weakness  we  republicans  are 
exposed  to  two  fires — that  of  the  enemy  placed  without,  and 
that  of  the  royalists  placed  within.  There  is  a  royal  direc- 
tory, which  holds  secret  meetings  at  Paris,  and  corresponds 
with  the  Prussian  army.  To  tell  you  where  it  assembles,  and 
of  whom  it  is  composed,  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  ministers. 
But  to  disconcert  it,  and  to  prevent  its  baneful  correspondence 
with  foreigners,  ice  must — we  must  strike  terror  into  the  royalists." 

At  these  words,  accompanied  by  a  gesture  betokening  ex- 
termination, horror  overspread  every  face. 

"  I  tell  you,"  resumed  Danton,  "you  must  strike  terror  into 
the  royalists.  ...  It  is  in  Paris,  above  all,  that  it  behoves  you 
to  stand  your  ground,  and  it  is  not  by  wasting  yourselves  in 
uncertain  combats  that  you  will  succeed  in  doing  so."  A 
stupor  instantly  pervaded  the  Assembly.  Not  a  word  more 
was  added  to  this  speech,  and  every  one  retired,  without  fore- 
seeing precisely,  without  daring  even  to  penetrate,  the  measures 
contemplated  by  the  minister. 

He  repaired  immediately  to  the  committee  of  surveillance  of 
the  commune,  which  disposed  with  sovereign  authority  of  the 
persons  of  all  the  citizens,  and  over  which  Marat  reigned.  The 
blind  and  ignorant  colleagues  of  Marat  were  Panis  and  Ser- 
gent,  already  conspicuous  on  the  20th  of  June  and  the  10th 
of  August,  and  four  others,  named  Jourdeuil,  Duplain,  Lefort, 
and  Lenfant.  There,  in  the  night  between  the  30th  and  the 
31st  of  August,  horrible  plans  were  meditated  against  the 
unfortunate  persons  confined  in  the  prisons  of  Paris.  Deplor- 
able and  dreadful  instance  of  political  excitement !  Danton, 
who  was  known  never  to  harbour  hatred  against  personal 
enemies,  and  to  be  frequently  accessible  to  pity,  lent  his 
audacity  to  the  atrocious  reveries  of  Marat.  They  two  hatched 
a  plot  of  which  several  centuries  have  furnished  examples,  but 
which  at  the  conclusion  of  the  eighteenth  cannot  be  explained 
by  the  ignorance  of  the  times  and  the  ferocity  of  manners. 
We  have  seen  three  years  before  this  a  man  named  Maillard  * 
figuring  at  the  head  of  the  female  insurgents  on  the  famous 
days  of  the  5  th  and  6th  of  October.  This  Maillard,  who  had 
been  usher  to  a  court  of  justice,  an  intelligent  but  bloodthirsty 
man,  had  formed  a  band  of  low  desperadoes  fit  for  any  enter- 
prise— such,  in  short,  as  are  to  be  found  in  those  classes  where 
education  has  not  purified  the  passions  by  enlightening  the 
understanding.     He  was  known  as  the   leader  of  this   band, 

*  See  Appendix  D. 


AUG.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  31 

and  if  we  may  credit  a  recent  revelation,  he  received  notice 
to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  act  upon  the  first  signal,  to 
place  himself  where  he  could  strike  with  effect  and  certainty, 
to  prepare  bludgeons,  to  take  precautions  for  preventing  the 
cries  of  the  victims,  to  procure  vinegar,  holly  brooms,  quick- 
lime, covered  carts,  &c. 

From  that  moment  vague  rumours  of  a  terrible  execution 
were  circulated.  The  relatives  of  the  prisoners  were  upon  the 
rack;  and  the  plot,  like  that  of  the  10th  of  August,  the  20th 
of  June,  and  all  the  others,  was  foreshown  by  portentous  signs. 
On  all  sides  it  was  repeated  that  it  was  requisite  to  overawe 
by  a  signal  example  the  conspirators  who,  in  the  recesses  of 
the  prisons,  were  corresponding  with  foreigners.  People  com- 
plained of  the  tardiness  of  the  tribunal  instituted  to  punish  the 
culprits  of  the  10th  of  August,  and  with  loud  cries  demanded 
speedy  justice.  On  the  31st,  Montmorin,  the  late  minister, 
was  acquitted  by  the  tribunal  of  the  17th  of  August,  and  re- 
ports were  spread  that  there  was  treachery  everywhere,  and 
that  impunity  was  ensured  to  the  guilty.  On  the  same  day  it 
was  alleged  that  a  condemned  person  had  made  some  revela- 
tions, the  purport  of  which  was  that  in  the  night  the  prisoners 
were  to  break  out  of  the  dungeons,  to  arm  and  disperse  them- 
selves through  the  city,  to  wreak  horrible  vengeance  upon  it, 
and  then  to  carry  off  the  King,  and  throw  open  Paris  to  the 
Prussians.  The  prisoners  who  were  thus  accused  were  mean- 
while trembling  for  their  lives  ;  their  relatives  were  in  deep 
consternation ;  and  the  royal  family  expected  nothing  but 
death  in  the  tower  of  the  Temple. 

At  the  Jacobins,  in  the  sections,  in  the  council  of  the 
commune,  in  the  minority  of  the  Assembly,  were  great  num- 
bers of  persons  who  believed  these  pretended  plots,  and  dared 
to  declare  it  lawful  to  exterminate  the  prisoners.  Assuredly 
Nature  does  not  form  so  many  monsters  for  a  single  day,  and 
it  is  party  spirit  alone  that  leads  astray  so  many  men  at  once  ! 
Sad  lesson  for  nations!  People  believe  in  dangers;  they  per- 
suade themselves  that  they  ought  to  repel  them  ;  they  repeat 
this  ;  they  work  themselves  up  into  a  frenzy  ;  and  while  some 
proclaim  with  levity  that  a  blow  must  be  struck,  others  strike 
with  sanguinary  audacity. 

On  Saturday  the  1st  of  September,  the  forty-eight  hours 
fixed  for  the  closing  of  the  barriers  and  the  execution  of  the 
domiciliary  visits  having  elapsed,  the  communications  were 
re-established.  But  in  the  course  of  the  day  all  at  once  a 
rumour  of  the  taking  of  Verdun  was  circulated.  Verdun,  how- 
ever, was  only  invested  ;  still  it  was  believed  that  the  place  was 


3  2  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  sept.  1792 

captured,  and  that  a  fresh  treachery  had  delivered  it  up  like 
the  fortress  of  Longwy.  Under  the  influence  of  Danton,  the 
commune  immediately  resolved  that  on  the  following  day, 
September  the  2nd,  the  gdnirale  should  be  beaten,  the  tocsin 
rung,  and  alarm  guns  fired,  and  that  all  the  disposable  citizens 
should  repair  armed  to  the  Champ  de  Mars,  encamp  there  for 
the  remainder  of  the  day,  and  set  out  on  the  next  for  Verdun. 
From  these  terrible  preparations  it  became  evident  that  some- 
thing very  different  from  a  levy  en  masse  was  contemplated. 
Relatives  hastened  to  make  efforts  to  obtain  the  enlargement 
of  the  prisoners.  Manuel,  the  procureur  syndic,  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  a  generous  woman,  liberated,  it  is  said,  two  female 
prisoners  of  the  family  of  Latremouille.  Another  lady, 
Madame  Fausse-Lendry,  importunately  solicited  permission  to 
accompany  her  uncle,  the  Abbe  de  Rastignac,  in  his  captivity. 
"  You  are  very  imprudent,"  replied  Sergent ;  "  the  prisons  arc 
not  safe." 

Next  day,  the  2nd  of  September,  was  Sunday,  and  the 
suspension  of  labour  increased  the  popular  tumult.  Numerous 
assemblages  were  formed  in  different  places,  and  a  report  was 
spread  that  the  enemy  was  likely  to  be  at  Paris  in  three  days. 
The  commune  informed  the  Assembly  of  the  measures  which  it 
had  taken  for  the  levy  en  masse  of  the  citizens.  Vergniaud. 
fired  with  patriotic  enthusiasm,  immediately  rose,  complimented 
the  Parisians  on  their  courage,  and  praised  them  for  having 
converted  the  zeal  for  motions  into  a  more  active  and  useful 
zeal — the  zeal  for  combat.  "It  appears,"  added  he,  "that  the 
plan  of  the  enemy  is  to  march  direct  to  the  capital,  leaving  the 
fortresses  behind  him.  Let  him  do  so.  This  course  will  be 
our  salvation  and  his  ruin.  Our  armies,  too  weak  to  withstand 
him,  will  be  strong  enough  to  harass  him  in  the  rear ;  and 
when  he  arrives,  pursued  by  our  battalions,  he  will  find  himself 
face  to  face  with  our  Parisian  army,  drawn  up  in  battle  array 
under  the  walls  of  the  capital ;  and  there,  surrounded  on  all 
sides,  he  will  be  swallowed  up  by  that  soil  which  he  had 
profaned.  But  amidst  these  flattering  hopes  there  is  a  danger 
which  ought  not  to  be  disguised — that  of  panic  terrors.  Our 
enemies  reckon  upon  them,  and  distribute  gold  in  order  to 
produce  them  ;  and  well  you  know  it,  there  are  men  made  up 
of  so  soft  a  clay  as  to  be  decomposed  at  the  idea  of  the  least 
danger.  I  wish  we  could  pick  out  this  species  without  souls 
but  with  human  faces,  and  collect  all  the  individuals  belonging 
to  it  in  one  town,  Longwy,  for  instance,  which  should  be  called 
the  town  of  cowards :  and  there,  objects  of  general  contempt, 
they  could  communicate  their  own  fears  to  their  fellow-citizens 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  33 

alone  ;  tliey  would  no  longer  cause  dwarfs  to  be  mistaken  for 
giants,  and  the  dust  flying  before  a  company  of  Hulans  for 
armed  battalions. 

"  Parisians,  it  is  high  time  to  display  all  your  energy ! 
Why  are  not  the  entrenchments  of  the  camp  more  advanced? 
Where  are  the  pickaxes,  the  spades,  which  raised  the  altar  of 
the  Federation,  and  levelled  the  ( 'hamp  de  Mars  ?  You  have 
manifested  great  ardour  for  festivities :  surely  you  will  not 
show  less  for  battle.  You  have  sung — you  have  celebrated 
liberty.  You  must  now  defend  it.  We  have  no  longer  to 
overthrow  kings  of  bronze,  but  living  kings,  armed  with  all 
their  power.  I  move,  therefore,  that  the  National  Assembly 
set  the  first  example,  and  send  twelve  commissioners,  not  to 
make  exhortations,  but  to  labour  themselves,  to  wield  the  spade 
with  their  own  hands,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  citizens."  This 
suggestion  was  adopted  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm. 

Danton  followed  Vergniaud.  He  communicated  the  measures 
which  had  been  taken,  and  proposed  new  ones.  "  One  portion 
of  the  people,"  said  he,  "is  about  to  proceed  to  the  frontiers, 
another  is  going  to  throw  up  entrenchments,  and  the  third, 
with  pikes,  will  defend  the  interior  of  our  cities.  But  this  is 
not  enough.  Commissioners  and  couriers  must  be  sent  forth 
to  all  parts  to  induce  the  whole  of  France  to  imitate  Paris.  A 
decree  must  be  passed  which  shall  make  it  obligatory  on  every 
citizen  to  serve  in  person,  or  to  give  up  his  arms.  The  gun," 
added  Danton,  ;'  which  you  will  presently  hear,  is  not  the 
alarm  gun  ;  it  is  the  charge  against  the  enemies  of  the  country. 
What  need  we  in  order  to  conquer  —  to  annihilate  them? 
Courage  !  again  courage,  and  nothing  but  courage  !  " 

The  words  and  gestures  of  the  minister  made  a  profound 
impression  on  all  present.  His  motion  was  adopted.  He 
retired  and  went  to  the  committee  of  surveillance.  All  the 
authorities,  all  the  bodies,  the  Assembly,  the  commune,  the 
sections,  the  Jacobins,  were  sitting.  The  ministers,  who  had 
me1  at  the  hotel  of  the  marine,  were  waiting  for  Danton  to 
hold  a  council.  The  whole  city  was  in  motion.  Profound 
terror  pervaded  the  prisons.  At  the  Temple,  the  royal  family. 
to  which  any  commotion  threatened  more  serious  consequences 
than  to  the  other  prisoners,  anxiously  inquired  the  cause  of  all 
this  perturbation.  The  gaolers  at  the  different  prisons  betrayed 
alarm.  The  keeper  of  the  Abbaye  had  sent  away  his  wife  and 
Children  in  the  morning.  The  prisoners'  dinner  had  been 
served  up  two  hours  before  the  usual  time,  and  all  the  knives 
had  been  taken  away  from  their  napkins.  Struck  by  these 
circumstances,  they  had  earnestly  Inquired  the  cause  of  their 

\oi..  11.  31 


34  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

keepers,  who  would  not  give  any  explanation,  At  length  at 
two  o'clock  the  gdneralc  began  to  beat,  the  tocsin  rang,  and 
the  alarm  gun  thundered  in  the  capital.  Troops  of  citizens 
repaired  to  the  Champ  de  Mars.  Others  surrounded  the  com- 
mune and  the  Assembly,  and  filled  the  public  places. 

There  were  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  twenty-four  priests,  who, 
having  been  apprehended  on  account  of  their  refusal  to  take 
the  oath,  were  to  be  removed  from  the  hall  of  the  depot  to  the 
prisons  of  the  Abbaye.  Whether  purposely  or  accidentally, 
this  moment  was  chosen  for  their  removal.  They  were  placed 
in  six  hackney  coaches,  and  escorted  by  Breton  and  Marseillais 
federalists,  they  were  conveyed  at  a  slow  pace  towards  the 
Faubourg  St.  Germain,  along  the  quays,  over  the  Pont  Neuf, 
and  through  the  Rue  Dauphine.  They  were  surrounded  and 
loaded  with  abuse.  "  There,"  said  the  federalists,  "  are  the 
conspirators  who  meant  to  murder  our  wives  and  children 
while  we  were  on  the  frontiers  !  "  These  words  increased  the 
tumult.  The  doors  of  the  coaches  were  open  :  the  unfortunate 
persons  within  strove  to  shut  them,  in  order  to  screen  them- 
selves from  the  ill-usage  to  which  they  were  exposed  ;  but 
being  prevented,  they  were  obliged  to  endure  blows  and  abuse 
with  patience. 

At  length  they  reached  the  court  of  the  Abbaye,  where  an 
immense  crowd  was  already  collected.  That  court  led  to  the 
prisons,  and  communicated  with  the  hall  in  which  the  com- 
mittee of  the  section  of  the  Quatre-Nations  held  its  meetings. 
The  first  coach,  on  driving  up  to  the  door  of  the  hall,  was 
surrounded  by  a  furious  rabble.  Maillard  was  present.  The 
door  opened.  The  first  of  the  prisoners  stepped  forward  to 
alight  and  to  enter  the  hall,  but  was  immediately  pierced  by  a 
thousand  weapons.  The  second  threw  himself  back  in  the 
carriage,  but  was  dragged  forth  by  main  force,  and  slaughtered 
like  the  preceding.  The  other  two  shared  the  same  fate  ;  and 
their  murderers  left  the  first  coach  to  go  to  those  which  followed. 
They  came  up  one  after  another  into  the  fatal  court,  and  the 
last  of  the  twenty-four  priests  *  was  despatched  amidst  the 
howls  of  an  infuriated  populace. 

At  this  moment  Billaud-Varennes  f  arrived,  a  member  of 
the  council  of  the  commune,  and  the  only  one  of  the  organizers 
of  these  massacres  who  dared  with  cruel  intrepidity  to  en- 
counter the  sight  of  them  and  constantly  to  defend  them.  He 
came,  wearing  his  scarf.  Walking  in  the  blood  and  over  the 
corpses,  he  addressed  the  crowd  of  murderers.     "  Good  people," 

*  With  one  exception  only,  the  Abbe  Sicard,  who  miraculously  escaped, 
t  See  Appendix  E. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  35 

said  he,  "you  sacrifice  your  enemies;  you  do  your  duty." 
Another  voice  was  raised  after  Billaud's.  It  was  that  of 
Maillard.  "  There  is  nothing  more  to  do  here,"  cried  he  ;  "  let 
us  go  to  the  Carmelites."  His  band  followed  him,  and  away 
they  posted  all  together  towards  the  church  of  the  Carmelites, 
in  which  two  hundred  priests  had  been  confined.  They  broke 
into  the  church,  and  butchered  the  unfortunate  priests,  who 
prayed  to  heaven,  and  embraced  each  other  at  the  approach  of 
death.  They  called  with  loud  shouts  for  the  Archbishop  of 
Aries  ;  *  they  sought  for,  discovered,  and  despatched  him  with 
the  stroke  of  a  sword  upon  the  skull.  After  using  their 
swords,  they  employed  fire-arms,  and  discharged  volleys  into 
the  rooms  and  the  garden,  at  the  tops  of  the  walls  and  the 
trees,  where  some  of  the  victims  sought  to  escape  their  fury. 

During  the  completion  of  the  massacre  at  the  Carmelites, 
Maillard  returned  with  part  of  his  followers  to  the  Abbaye. 
Covered  with  blood  and  perspiration,  he  went  in  to  the  com- 
mittee of  the  section  of  the  Quatre-Nations,  and  asked  for 
wine  for  the  brave  labourers  who  were  delivering  the  nation  from 
its  enemies.  The  committee  shuddered,  and  granted  them 
twenl  y-four  quarts. 

The  wine  was  poured  out  in  the  court  at  tables  surrounded 
by  the  corpses  of  the  persons  murdered  in  the  afternoon.  After 
it  was  drunk.  Maillard,  of  a  sudden  pointing  to  the  prison, 
cried,  "  To  the  Abbaye  !  "  At  these  words  his  gang  followed 
him  and  attacked  the  door.  The  trembling  prisoners  heard  the 
yells — the  signal  for  their  death  !  The  gaoler  and  his  wife 
disappeared.  The  doors  were  thrown  open.  The  first  of  the 
prisoners  who  were  met  with  were  seized,  dragged  forth  by  the 
legs,  and  their  bleeding  bodies  thrown  into  the  court.  While 
the  first  comers  were  thus  indiscriminately  slaughtered,  Mail- 
lard and  his  band  demanded  the  keys  of  the  different  prisons. 
One  of  them,  advancing  towards  the  door  of  the  wicket,  mounted 
upon  a  stool  and  harangued  the  mob.  "  My  friends,"  said  he, 
"you  wish  to  destroy  the  aristocrats,  who  are  the  enemies  of 

*  "  When  the  assassins  got  to  the  chapel,  they  called,  with  loncl  cries,  the 
Archbishop  of  Aries,  '  Are  you  he  ? '  said  one  of  them,  addressing  this  venerable 
and  virtuous  prelate.  'Yes,  gentlemen,  I  am.'  '  Ah,  wretch,' replied  the  fellow, 
'it  is  you  who  caused  the  hlood  of  the  patriots  of  Aries  to  be  spilt,'  and  with 
these  words  the  ruffian  aimed  a  blow  of  his  hanger  at  the  prelate's  forehead.  He 
ri  eived  it  unmoved.  A  second  dreadful  gash  was  given  him  in  the  face.  A 
third  blow  brought  him  to  the  ground,  where  he  rested  on  his  left  hand  without 
ottering  a  single  murmur.  While  he  lay  thus,  one  of  the  assassins  plunged  his 
pike  into  his  breast  with  such  violence  that  the  iron  part  stuck  there.  The 
ruffian  then  jumped  on  the  prelate's  palpitating  body,  trampled  upon  it,  and 
tore  away  his  watch.  Thus  fell  that  amiable  archbishop,  just  within  the  chapel, 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar  and  of  the  cross  of  our  Saviour.-' — Peltier. 


36  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

the  people,  and  who  meant  to  murder  your  wives  and  children 
while  you  were  at  the  frontiers.  You  are  right,  no  doubt ; 
but  you  are  good  citizens ;  you  love  justice  ;  and  you  would 
be  very  sorry  to  steep  your  hands  in  innocent  blood."  "  Yes, 
certainly,"  cried  the  executioners.  "Well,  then,  let  me  ask, 
when  you  are  determined,  without  listening  to  any  remon- 
strance, to  rush  like  furious  tigers  upon  men  who  are  strangers 
to  you,  are  you  not  liable  to  confound  the  innocent  with  the 
guilty  ?  "  The  speaker  was  interrupted  by  one  of  the  by- 
standers, who,  armed  with  a  sword,  cried  in  his  turn,  "  What ! 
do  you  want  to  lull  us  to  sleep  too?  If  the  Prussians  and  the 
Austrians  were  at  Paris,  would  they  strive  to  distinguish  the 
guilty  ?  I  have  a  wife  and  family,  and  will  not  leave  them  in 
danger.  Give  arms,  if  you  please,  to  these  scoundrels.  We 
will  fight  them  man  to  man,  and  before  we  set  out  Paris  shall 
be  cleared  of  them."  "He  is  right ;  we  must  go  in,"  said  the 
others,  and  they  rushed  forward.  They  were  stopped,  however, 
and  obliged  to  assent  to  a  kind  of  trial.  It  was  agreed  that 
they  should  take  a  list  of  the  prisoners,  that  one  of  them  should 
act  as  president,  read  the  names  and  the  causes  of  detention,  and 
immediately  pronounce  sentence  on  each  prisoner.  "  Maillard  ! 
Let  Maillard  be  president ! "  cried  out  several  voices ;  and 
forthwith  he  assumed  the  office.  This  terrible  president  seated 
himself  at  a  table,  placed  before  him  the  list  of  the  prisoners, 
called  around  him  a  few  men,  taken  at  random,  to  give  their 
opinions,  sent  some  into  the  prison  to  bring  out  the  inmates, 
and  posted  others  at  the  door  to  consummate  the  massacre. 
It  was  agreed  that  in  order  to  spare  scenes  of  anguish  he 
should  pronounce  these  words,  Sir,  to  La  Force !  when  the 
prisoner  should  be  taken  out  at  the  wicket,  and  unaware  of 
the  fate  which  awaited  him,  be  delivered  up  to  the  swords  of 
the  party  posted  there. 

The  Swiss  confined  in  the  Abbaye,  and  whose  officers  had 
been  taken  to  the  Conciergerie,  were  first  brought  forward. 
"It  was  you,"  said  Maillard,  "who  murdered  the  people  on 
the  10th  of  August."  "We  were  attacked,"  replied  the  un- 
fortunate men,  "  and  we  obeyed  our  officers."  "  At  any  rate," 
replied  Maillard  coldly,  "  you  are  only  going  to  be  taken  to 
La  Force."  But  the  prisoners,  who  had  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  swords  brandished  on  the  other  side  of  the  wicket,  were 
not  to  be  deceived.  They  were  ordered  to  go,  but  halted  and 
drew  back.  One  of  them,  more  courageous,  asked  which  way 
they  were  to  go.  The  door  was  opened,  and  he  rushed 
headlong  amidst  the  swords  and  pikes.  The  others  followed, 
and  met  with  the  same  fate  ! 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION  3  7 

The  executioners  returned  to  the  prison,  put  all  the  women 
into  one  room,  and  brought  out  more  prisoners.  Several  per- 
sons accused  of  forging  assignats  were  first  sacrificed.  After 
them  came  the  celebrated  Montmorin,  whose  acquittal  had 
caused  so  much  commotion  without  obtaining  him  his  liberty. 
Led  before  the  bloodstained  president,  he  declared  that,  being 
in  the  hands  of  a  regular  tribunal,  he  could  not  recognize 
any  other.  "Well,"  replied  Maillard,  •■then  you  must  go  to 
La  Force  to  await  a  new  trial !  "  The  unsuspecting  ex-minister 
applied  for  a  carriage.  He  was  told  that  he  would  find  one  at 
the  door.  He  also  asked  for  some  of  his  effects,  went  to  the 
door,  and  was  instantly  put  to  death. 

Thierry,  the  King's  valet-de-chambre,  was  then  brought. 
"Like  master,  like  man."  said  Maillard,  and  the  unfortunate 
prisoner  was  slaughtered.*  Next  came  Buob  and  Bocquillon, 
justices  of  the  peace,  accused  of  having  belonged  to  the  secret 
committee  of  the  Tuileries.  They  were  accordingly  murdered. 
Night  meanwhile  Avas  advancing,  and  every  prisoner,  hearing 
the  yells  of  the  assassins,  concluded  that  his  last  hour  was  at 
hand. 

AYhat  were  the  constituted  authorities,  all  the  assembled 
bodies,  all  the  citizens  of  Paris,  about  at  this  moment  ?  In 
that  immense  capital,  tranquillity  and  tumult,  security  and 
terror,  may  prevail  at  one  and  the  same  time,  so  distant  is 
one  part  of  it  from  another.  It  was  very  late  before  the 
Assembly  was  apprized  of  the  atrocities  perpetrating  in  the 
prisons;  and  horror-struck,  it  had  sent  deputies  to  appease 
the  people,  and  to  save  the  victims.  The  commune  had  de- 
spatched commissioners  to  liberate  the  prisoners  for  debt,  and 

*  "  M.  Thierry,  the  King's  head  valet,  after  lie  was  condemned  to  die,  kept 
crying  out,  '  God  save  the  King  ! '  even  when  he  had  a  pike  run  through  his 
body  ;  and  as  if  these  words  were  blasphemous,  the  assassins  in  a  rage  burned 
his  face  with  two  torches.  The  Comte  de  St.  Mart,  a  knight  of  the  order  of 
St.  Louis,  one  of  the  prisoners,  had  a  spear  run  through  both  his  sides.  His 
executioners  then  forced  him  to  crawl  upon  his  knees,  with  his  body  thus 
skewered  ;  and  burst  out  laughing  at  his  convulsive  writbings.  They  at  last 
put  an  end  tn  his  agony  by  cutting  off  bis  bead." — Peltier. 

"Young  Massaubre'  bad  hid  himself  in  a  chimney.    As  lie  could  not  be  found, 

tin'  assassins  were  resolved  to  make  the  gaoler  answerable.    The  latter,  accustomed 

to  the  tricks  of  prisoners,  and  knowing  that  the  chimney  was  well  secured  at  top 

by  bars  of  iron,  tired  a  gun  up  several  times.    One  ball  hit  Massaubre,  and  broke 

his  wrist.     He  had  sufficient  self-command  to  endure  the  pain  in  silence.     The 

r  then  set  lire  to  some  straw  in  the  chimney.     The  smoke  suffocated  him  ; 

ambled  down  <m  the  burning  straw,  and  was  dragged  out,  wounded,  burnt, 

and   half  dead.      On  being  taken  into  the  street,  the  executioners  determined 

omplete  his  death  in  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  begun.     He  remained 

almost  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  lying  in  blood,  among  heaps  of  dead  bodies,  till 

1    ins  could  procure  fire-arms.     At  last  they  put  an  end  to  his  tortures 

by  shooting  him  through  the  head  live  times  with  pistols. " — Peltier, 


38  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

to  separate  what  they  called  the  innocent  from  the  guilty. 
Lastly,  the  Jacobins,  though  met  and  informed  of  what  was 
passing,  seemed  to  maintain  a  preconcerted  silence.  The 
ministers,  assembled  at  the  hotel  of  the  marine  to  hold  a 
council,  were  not  yet  apprized  of  what  was  being  perpetrated, 
and  awaited  Danton,  who  was  attending  the  committee  of 
surveillance.  Santerre,  the  commandant-general,  had,  so  he 
told  the  commune,  issued  orders,  but  they  were  not  obeyed, 
and  almost  all  his  men  were  engaged  in  guarding  the  barriers. 
It  is  certain  that  unrecognized  and  contradictory  orders  were 
given,  and  that  all  the  signs  of  a  secret  authority,  opposed 
to  the  public  authority,  were  manifested.  In  the  court  of  the 
Abbaye  was  a  post  of  the  national  guard,  which  had  instruc- 
tions to  suffer  people  to  enter,  but  not  to  go  out.  Besides, 
there  were  posts  waiting  for  orders,  and  not  receiving  any. 
Had  Santerre  lost  his  wits,  as  on  the  10th  of  August,  or  was 
he  implicated  in  the  plot  ?  While  commissioners,  publicly 
sent  by  the  commune,  came  to  recommend  tranquillity  and 
to  pacify  the  people,  other  members  of  the  same  commune 
repaired  to  the  committee  of  the  Quatre-Nations,  which  was 
sitting  close  to  the  scene  of  the  massacres,  and  said,  "  Is  all 
going  on  right  here  as  well  as  at  the  Carmelites  ?  The  com- 
mune sends  us  to  offer  you  assistance  if  you  need  it." 

The  efforts  of  the  commissioners  sent  by  the  Assembly  and 
by  the  commune  to  put  a  stop  to  the  murders  had  proved  un- 
availing. They  had  found  an  immense  mob  surrounding  the 
prison,  and  looking  at  the  horrid  sight  with  shouts  of  Vive 
la  nation  !  Old  Dusaulx,  mounted  on  a  chair,  commenced  an 
address  in  favour  of  mercy,  but  could  not  obtain  a  hearing. 
Basire,  possessing  more  tact,  had  feigned  a  participation  in 
the  resentment  of  the  crowd  ;  but  they  refused  to  listen  to 
him  the  moment  he  endeavoured  to  excite  sentiments  of  com- 
passion. Manuel,  the  procureur  of  the  commune,  filled  with 
pity,  had  run  the  greatest  risks  without  being  able  to  save 
a  single  victim.  At  this  intelligence,  the  commune,  touched 
more  sensibly  than  it  had  been  at  first,  despatched  a  second 
deputation,  to  pacify  the  people,  and  to  enlighten  their  minds 
as  to  their  true  interests.  This  deputation,  as  unsuccessful  as 
the  first,  merely  succeeded  in  setting  at  liberty  a  few  women 
and  debtors. 

The  massacre  continued  throughout  that  horrid  night ! 
The  murderers  succeeded  each  other  at  the  tribunal  and  at 
the  wicket,  and  became  by  turns  judges  and  executioners. 
At  the  same  time  they  continued  to  drink,  and  set  down 
upon  a  table  their  bloodstained  glasses.     Amidst  this  carnage, 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  39 

however,  they  spared  some  victims,  and  manifested  incon- 
ceivable joy  in  giving  them  their  lives.  A  young  man,  claimed 
by  a  section,  and  declared  pure  from  aristocracy,  was  acquitted 
with  shouts  of  Vive  la  nation !  and  borne  in  triumph  in  the 
bloody  arms  of  the  executioners.  The  venerable  Sombreuil, 
governor  of  the  Invalides,  was  brought  forward  in  his  turn, 
and  sentenced  to  be  transferred  to  La  Force.  His  daughter 
perceived  him  from  the  prison,  rushed  out  among  pikes  and 
swords,  clasped  her  father  in  her  arms,  clung  to  him  with 
such  tenacity,  besought  his  murderers  with  such  a  flood  of 
tears  and  in  such  piteous  accents,  that  even  their  fury  was 
suspended.  Then,  as  if  to  subject  that  sensibility  which  over- 
powered them  to  a  fresh  trial,  "  Drink,"  said  they  to  this 
dutiful  daughter,  "  drink  the  blood  of  the  aristocrats  !  "  and 
they  handed  to  her  a  pot  full  of  blood.  She  drank — and  her 
father  was  saved  !  The  daughter  of  Cazotte  also  instinctively 
clasped  her  father  in  her  arms.  She,  too,  implored  for  mercy, 
and  proved  as  irresistible  as  the  generous  Sombreuil  ;  but 
more  fortunate  than  the  latter,  she  saved  her  father's  life 
without  having  any  horrible  condition  imposed  upon  her  affec- 
tion.* Tears  trickled  from  the  eyes  of  the  murderers,  and  yet 
a  moment  after  away  they  went  in  quest  of  fresh  victims. 

One  of  them  returned  to  the  prison  to  lead  forth  other 
prisoners  to  death.  He  was  told  that  the  wretches  whom  he 
came  to  slaughter  had  been  kept  without  water  for  twenty- 
two  hours,  and  he  resolved  to  go  and  kill  the  gaoler.  Another 
felt  compassion  for  a  prisoner  whom  he  was  taking  to  the 
wicket,  because  he  heard  him  speak  the  dialect  of  his  own 
country.  "  Why  art  thou  here  ?  "  said  he  to  M.  Journiac  de 
St.  Meard.  "  If  thou  art  not  a  traitor,  the  president,  who  is 
not  a  fool,  will  do  thee  justice.  Do  not  tremble,  and  answer 
boldly."  M.  Journiac  was  brought  before  Maillard,  who  looked 
at  the  list.  "Ah!"  said  Maillard,  "it  is  you,  M.  Journiac, 
who  wrote  in  the  Journal  de  la  Cour  ct  de  la  Ville."  "  No," 
replied  the  prisoner,  "  it  is  a  calumny.  I  never  wrote  in  that 
paper."  "  Heware  of  attempting  to  deceive  us,"  rejoined 
Maillard,    "for    any  falsehood    here  is   punished  with   death. 

*  "Alter  thirty  hours  of  carnage,  sentence  was  passed  on  Cazotte.  The 
instrument  of  death  was  already  uplifted.  The  bloody  hands  were  stretched 
out  to  pierce  his  a^cd  hreast.  His  daughter  Hung  herself  on  the  old  man's 
neck,  and  presenting  her  l">  om  to  the  swords  of  the  assassins,  exclaimed,  'You 
shall  nut  get  at  my  father  till  you  have  forced  your  way  through  my  heart.' 
The  pikes  were  instantly  checked  in  their  murderous  career  ;  a  shout  of  pardon 
is  heard,  and  is  repeated  by  a.  thousand  voices.  Elizabeth,  whose  beauty  was 
heightened  by  her  agitation,  embraces  the  murderers  ;  and  covered  with  human 
blood,  Imt  triumphant,  she  proceeds  to  Lodge  her  father  sale  in  the  midst  of  his 
family." — Peltier. 


40  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

Have  you  not  recently  absented  yourself  to  go  to  the  army 
of  the  emigrants  ?  "  "  That  is  another  calumny.  I  have  a 
certificate  attesting  that  for  twenty-three  months  past  I  have 
not  left  Paris.''  "  Whose  is  that  certificate  ?  Is  the  signature 
authentic  ?  "  Fortunately  for  M.  de  Journiac  there  happened 
to  be  among  the  sanguinary  crew  a  man  to  whom  the  signer 
of  the  certificate  was  personally  known.  The  signature  was 
accordingly  verified  and  declared  to  be  genuine.  "  You  see, 
then,"  resumed  M.  de  Journiac,  "  I  have  been  slandered." 
"  If  the  slanderer  were  here,"  replied  Maillard,  "  he  should 
suffer  condign  punishment.  But  tell  me,  was  there  no  motive 
for  your  confinement  ?  "  "  Yes,"  answered  M.  de  Journiac  ; 
"  I  was  known  to  be  an  aristocrat."  "  An  aristocrat !  "  "  Yes, 
an  aristocrat ;  but  you  are  not  here  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
opinions.  It  is  conduct  only  that  you  have  to  try.  Mine  is 
irreproachable  ;  I  have  never  conspired  ;  my  soldiers  in  the 
regiment  which  I  commanded  adored  me,  and  they  begged 
me  at  Nancy  to  go  and  take  Malseigne."  Struck  with  his 
firmness,  the  judges  looked  at  one  another,  and  Maillard  gave 
the  signal  of  mercy.  Shouts  of  Vive  la  nation  !  instantly  arose 
on  all  sides.  The  prisoner  was  embraced.  Two  men  laid  hold 
of  him,  and  covering  him  with  their  arms,  led  him  safely 
through  the  threatening  array  of  pikes  and  swords.  M.  de 
Journiac  offered  them  money,  but  they  refused  it,  and  only 
asked  permission  to  embrace  him.*  Another  prisoner,  saved 
in  like  manner,  was  escorted  home  with  the  same  attention. 
The  executioners,  dripping  with  blood,  begged  leave  to  witness 
the  joy  of  his  family,  and  immediately  afterwards  returned 
to  the  carnage.  In  this  convulsive  state  all  the  emotions 
succeed  each  other  in  the  heart  of  man.  By  turns  a  mild  and 
ferocious  animal,  he  weeps  and  then  slaughters.  Steeped  in 
blood,  he  is  all  at  once  touched  by  an  instance  of  ardent 
affection  or  of  noble  firmness.  He  is  sensible  to  the  honour 
of  appearing  just,  to  the  vanity  of  appearing  upright  or  dis- 
interested. If  in  these  deplorable  days  of  September  some 
of  those  savages  were  seen  turning  at  once  robbers  and 
murderers,  others  were  seen  coming  to  deposit  on  the  bureau 
of  the  committee  of  the  Abbaye  the  bloodstained  jewels  found 
upon  the  prisoners. 

During  this  terrific  night  the  band  had  divided  and  carried 
destruction  into  the  other  prisons  of  Paris.  At  the  Chatelet. 
La  Force,  the  Conciergerie,  the  Bernardins,  St.  Firmin,  La 
Salpetriere,  and  the  Bicetre,  the  same  massacres  had  been  per- 

*  See  Appendix  F, 


sept.  1792       TEE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  4 1 

petrated,  and  streams  of  blood  had  flowed,  as  at  the  Abbaye.* 
Next  morning,  Monday  the  3rd  of  September,  day  threw  a 
light  upon  the  horrid  carnage  of  the  night,  and  consternation 
pervaded  all  Paris.  Billaud-Varennes  again  repaired  to  the 
Abbaye,  where  on  the  preceding  evening  he  had  encouraged 
what  were  called  the  labourers.  He  again  addressed  them. 
"  My  friends,"  said  he,  "  by  taking  the  lives  of  villains  you  have 
saved  the  country.  France  owes  you  everlasting  gratitude, 
and  the  municipality  knows  not  how  to  remunerate  you.  It 
offers  you  twenty-four  livres  apiece,  and  you  shall  be  paid 
immediately."  These  words  were  received  with  applause,  and 
those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  then  followed  Billaud- 
Varennes  to  the  committee  to  receive  the  pay  that  was  promised 
them.  "  Where  do  you  imagine,"  said  the  president  to  Billaud. 
';  that  we  are  to  find  funds  for  paying  ?  "  Billaud  then  pro- 
nounced a  fresh  eulogy  on  the  massacres,  and  told  the  president 
that  the  minister  of  the  interior  must  have  money  for  that 
purpose.  Messengers  were  sent  to  Roland,  who  on  rising- 
had  just  received  intelligence  of  the  crimes  of  the  night,  and 
who  refused  the  demand  with  indignation.  Returning  to  the 
committee,  the  murderers  demanded,  upon  pain  of  death,  the 
wages  of  their  horrid  labour,  and  every  member  was  obliged 
to  empty  his  pockets  to  satisfy  them.f  The  commune  under- 
took to  pay  the  remainder  of  the  debt,  and  there  may  still 
be  seen  in  the  statement  of  its  expenses  the  entries  of  several 
sums  paid  to  the  executioners  of  September.  There,  too,  may 
be  seen,  at  the  date  of  September  the  4th,  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-three  livres  charged  to  the 
same  account. 

The  report  of  all  these  horrors  had  spread  throughout  Paris, 

*  "  The  populace  in  the  court  of  the  Abhaye  complained  that  the  foremost 
only  got  a  stroke  at  the  prisoners,  and  that  they  were  deprived  of  the  pleasure 
of  murdering  the  aristocrats.  It  was  in  consequence  agreed  that  those  in  advance 
should  only  strike  with  the  backs  of  their  sabres,  and  that  the  wretched  victims 
should  be  made  to  run  the  gauntlet  through  a  long  avenue  of  murderers,  each  of 
whom  should  have  the  satisfaction  of  striking  them  before  they  expired.  The 
women  in  the  adjoining  quarter  made  a,  formal  demand  to  the  commune  for 
lights  to  see  the  massacres,  and  a  lain])  was  in  consequence  placed  near  the  spot 
where  the  victims  issued,  amid  the  shouts  of  the  spectators.  Benches,  under  the 
charge  of  sentinels,  were  next  arranged,  some  'Pour  les  Messieurs,'  and  others 
'  Pour  les  Dames,'  to  witness  the  spectacle!" — Alison. 

t  "The  assassins  were  not  slow  in  claiming  their  promised  reward.  Stained 
witli  blood,  and  bespattered  with  brains,  with  their  swords  and  bayonets  in  their 
bands,  they  soon  thronged  the  doors  of  the  committee  of  the  municipality,  who 
were  at  a  loss  for  funds  to  discharge  their  claims.  'Do  you  think  I  have  only 
earned  twenty-four  francs?'  said  a  young  baker,  armed  with  a  massive  weapon  ; 
'why,  I  have  slain  forty  with  my  own  hands  !  '  At  midnight  the  mob  returned, 
threatening  instant  death  to  the  whole  committee  it  they  were  not  forthwith 
paid. " — Alison. 


42  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

and  produced  the  greatest  consternation.  The  Jacobins  con- 
tinued to  observe  silence.  Some  symptoms  of  compassion 
were  shown  at  the  commune  ;  but  its  members  did  not  fail 
to  add  that  the  people  had  been  just ;  that  they  had  punished 
criminals  only  ;  and  that  in  their  vengeance,  if  they  had  done 
wrong,  it  was  merely  by  anticipating  the  sword  of  the  law. 
The  general  council  had  again  sent  commissioners  "to  allay 
the  agitation,  aud  to  bring  back  to  right  principles  those  who 
had  been  misled."  Such  were  the  expressions  of  the  public 
authorities !  People  were  everywhere  to  be  found  who,  whilst 
pitying  the  sufferings  of  the  unfortunate  victims,  added,  "  If 
they  had  been  allowed  to  live,  they  would  have  murdered  us 
in  a  few  days."  "If,"  said  others,  "we  are  conquered  and 
massacred  by  the  Prussians,  they  will  at  least  have  fallen  before 
us."  Such  are  the  frightful  consequences  of  the  fear  which 
parties  produce  in  each  other,  and  of  the  hatred  engendered 
by  that  fear ! 

The  Assembly,  amidst  these  atrocious  outrages,  was  painfully 
affected.  Decree  after  decree  was  issued,  demanding  from 
the  commune  an  account  of  the  state  of  Paris  ;  and  the  com- 
mune replied  that  it  was  doing  all  that  lay  in  its  power 
to  restore  order  and  the  laws.  Still  the  Assembly,  composed 
of  those  Girondins  who  proceeded  so  courageously  against  the 
murderers  of  September,  and  died  so  nobly  for  having  attacked 
them — the  Assembly  did  not  conceive  the  idea  of  repairing 
in  a  body  to  the  prisons,  and  placing  itself  between  the  butchers 
and  the  victims.  If  that  generous  idea  did  not  occur  to  draw 
them  from  their  seats  and  to  transfer  them  to  the  theatre  of  the 
carnage,  this  must  be  attributed  to  surprise,  to  the  feeling  of 
impotence,  perhaps  also  to  that  lukewarmness  occasioned  by 
danger  from  an  enemy,  and  lastly,  to  that  disastrous  notion 
shared  by  some  of  the  deputies,  that  the  victims  were  so  many 
conspirators,  at  whose  hands  death  might  have  been  expected 
had  it  not  been  inflicted  on  themselves. 

One  individual  displayed  on  this  day  a  generous  charac- 
ter, and  exclaimed  with  noble  energy  against  the  murderers. 
During  their  reign  of  three  days,  he  remonstrated  on  the  second. 
On  Monday  morning,  the  moment  he  was  informed  of  the 
crimes  of  the  night,  he  wrote  to  Petion,  the  mayor,  who  as  yet 
knew  nothing  of  them.  He  wrote  to  Santerre,  who  did  not 
act ;  and  addressed  to  both  the  most  urgent  requisitions.  He 
also  sent  at  the  moment  a  letter  to  the  Assembly,  which  was 
received  with  applause.  This  excellent  man,  so  unworthily 
calumniated  by  the  parties,  was  Roland.  In  his  letter  he  in- 
veighed against  all  sorts  of  disorders,  against  the  usurpations 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  4  3 

of  the  commune,  against  the  fury  of  the  populace,  and  said 
nobly,  that  he  was  ready  to  die  at  the  post  which  the  law  had 
assigned  to  him.  If,  however,  the  reader  wishes  to  form  an  idea 
of  the  exciting  dispositions  of  minds,  of  the  fury  which  pre- 
vailed against  those  who  were  denominated  traitors,  and  of 
the  caution  with  which  it  was  necessary  to  speak  of  outrageous 
passions,  some  notion  of  them  may  be  conceived  from  the  follow- 
ing passage.  Assuredly  there  can  be  no  cpiestion  of  the  courage 
of  the  man  who  alone  and  publicly  held  all  the  authorities 
responsible  for  the  massacres  ;  and  yet  observe  in  what  manner 
he  was  obliged  to  express  himself  on  the  subject : — 

"  Yesterday  was  a  day  over  the  events  of  which  we  ought 
perhaps  to  throw  a  veil.  I  know  that  the  people,  terrible  in 
their  vengeance,  exercise  a  sort  of  justice  in  it ;  they  do  not 
take  for  their  victims  all  whom  they  encounter  in  their  fury  ; 
they  direct  it  against  those  whom  they  consider  as  having  been 
too  long  spared  by  the  sword  of  the  law,  and  whom  the  danger 
of  circumstances  persuades  them  that  it  is  expedient  to  sacrifice 
without  delay.  But  I  know,  too,  that  it  is  easy  for  villains,  for 
traitors,  to  abuse  this  excitement,  and  that  it  ought  to  be 
stopped.  I  know  that  we  owe  to  all  France  the  declaration 
that  the  executive  power  could  neither  foresee  nor  prevent 
these  excesses.  I  know  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  constituted 
authorities  to  put  an  end  to  them,  or  to  regard  themselves  as 
annihilated.  I  know,  moreover,  that  this  declaration  exposes 
me  to  the  rage  of  certain  agitators.  Let  them  take  my  life. 
I  am  not  anxious  to  preserve  it,  unless  for  the  sake  of  liberty 
and  equality.  If  these  be  violated  or  destroyed,  either  by  the 
rule  of  foreign  despots  or  by  the  excesses  of  a  misled  people,  I 
shall  have  lived  long  enough  ;  but  till  my  latest  breath  I  shall 
have  done  my  duty.  This  is  the  only  good  which  I  covet,  and 
of  which  no  power  on  earth  can  deprive  me." 

The  Assembly  received  this  letter  with  applause,  and  on  the 
motion  of  Lamourette,  ordered  the  commune  to  give  an  account 
of  the  state  of  Paris.  The  commune  again  replied  that  tran- 
quillity was  restored.  On  seeing  the  courage  of  the  minister 
of  the  interior.  Marat  and  his  committee  were  exasperated,  and 
dared  to  issue  an  order  for  his  apprehension.  Such  was  their 
Mind  fury,  thai  they  had  the  hardihood  to  attack  a  minister 
and  a  man  who  al  I  he  moment  still  possessed  all  his  popu- 
larity. At  this  news  Danton  vehemently  inveighed  against 
those  members  of  the  committee  whom  he  called  madmen. 
Though  daily  thwarted  by  the  inflexibility  of  Roland,  he  was 
far  from  harbouring  animosity  against  him.  lie-ides,  he 
dreaded  in   his  terrible  policy  all  thai  he  deemed  useless,  and 


44  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

he  regarded  it  as  extravagant  to  seize  the  minister  of  State  in 
the  midst  of  his  functions.  He  repaired  to  the  residence  of 
the  mayor,  hastened  to  the  committee,  and  launched  out 
indignantly  against  Marat.  Means  were  nevertheless  found 
to  appease  him,  and  to  reconcile  him  with  Marat.  The  order 
for  Roland's  apprehension  was  delivered  to  him,  and  he  went 
immediately  and  showed  it  to  Petion,  to  whom  he  related  what 
he  had  done.  "See,"  said  he,  "what  those  madmen  are 
capable  of !  but  I  shall  know  how  to  bring  them  to  reason." 
"You  have  done  wrong,"  coolly  replied  Petion;  "this  act 
could  not  have  harmed  any  but  its  authors." 

Petion,  on  his  part,  though  colder  than  Roland,  had  displayed 
not  less  courage.  He  had  written  to  Santerre,  who,  either 
from  impotence,  or  from  being  implicated  in  the  plot,  replied 
that  his  heart  was  rent,  but  that  he  could  not  enforce  the 
execution  of  his  orders.  He  had  afterwards  repaired  in  per- 
son to  the  different  theatres  of  carnage.  At  La  Force  he  had 
dragged  from  their  bloody  seat  two  municipal  officers  in  scarfs, 
who  were  acting  in  the  same  capacity  as  Maillard  had  done  at 
the  Abbaye.  But  no  sooner  was  he  gone  to  proceed  to  some 
other  place,  than  the  municipal  officers  returned  and  continued 
their  executions.  Petion,  whose  presence  was  everywhere  in- 
efficacious, returned  to  Roland,  who  was  taken  ill  in  conse- 
quence of  the  deep  impression  that  had  been  made  upon  him. 
The  only  place  preserved  from  attack  was  the  Temple,  against 
the  inmates  of  which  the  popular  fury  was  particularly  excited. 
Here,  however,  the  armed  force  had  been  more  fortunate  ;  and 
a  tricoloured  ribbon  extended  between  the  walls  and  the 
populace  had  sufficed  to  keep  it  off,  and  to  save  the  royal 
family.*" 

The  monsters  who  had  been  spilling  blood  ever  since  Sunday 
had  contracted  an  appetite  for  it,  and  a  habit  which  they  could 
not  immediately  lay  aside.  They  had  even  established  a  sort 
of  regularity  in  their  executions.  They  suspended  them  for 
the  purpose  of  removing  the  corpses,  and  taking  their  meals. 
Women,  carrying  refreshments,  even  repaired  to  the  prisons, 
to  take  dinner  to  their  husbands,  who,  they  said,  were  at  work 
at  the  Abbaye. 

At  La  Force,  the  Bicetre,  and  the  Abbaye,  the  massacres 
were  continued  longer  than  elsewhere.      It  was  at  La  Force 

*  "  One  of  the  commissioners  told  me  that  the  mob  had  attempted  to  rush  in, 
and  to  carry  into  the  Tower  the  body  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe,  naked  and 
bloody,  as  it  had  been  dragged  from  the  prison  de  la  Force  to  the  Temple  ;  but 
that  some  municipal  officers  had  hung  a  tricoloured  ribbon  across  the  principal 
gate  as  a  bar  against  them  ;  and  that  for  six  hours  it  was  very  doubtful  whether 
the  royal  family  would  be  massacred  or  not." — Cleri/. 


■'IIBAIL 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  45 

that  the  unfortunate  Princesse  de  Lamballe  was  confined.  She 
had  been  celebrated  at  Court  for  her  beauty  and  her  intimacy 
with  the  Queen.  She  was  led  dying  to  the  terrible  wicket. 
"Who  are  you?"  asked  the  executioners  in  scarfs.  "Louisa 
of  Savoy,  Princesse  de  Lamballe.'"'  "  What  part  do  you  act  at 
Court  ?  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  plots  of  the  palace  ?  " 
"I  was  never  acquainted  with  any  plot."  "Swear  to  love 
liberty  and  equality ;  swear  to  hate  the  King,  the  Queen,  and 
royalty."  "I  will  take  the  first  oath;  the  second  I  cannot 
take  ;  it  is  not  in  my  heart."  "  Swear,  however,"  said  one  of 
the  bystanders,  who  wished  to  save  her.  But  the  unfortunate 
lady  could  no  longer  either  see  or  hear.  "  Let  madame  be  set 
at  liberty"  said  the  chief  of  the  wicket.  Here,  as  at  the 
Abbaye,  a  particular  word  had  been  adopted  as  the  signal  of 
death.  The  Princess  was  led  away,  not  as  some  writers  assert, 
to  be  put  to  death,  but  for  the  purpose  of  being  actually 
liberated.  At  the  door,  however,  she  was  received  by  wretches 
eager  for  carnage.  At  the  first  stroke  of  a  sabre  on  the 
back  of  her  head  the  blood  gushed  forth.  She  still  advanced, 
supported  by  two  men,  who  perhaps  meant  to  save  her ;  but  a 
few  paces  further  she  fell  from  the  effect  of  a  second  blow. 
Her  beautiful  form  was  torn  in  pieces.*  It  was  even  mangled 
and  mutilated  by  the  murderers,  who  divided  the  fragments 
among  them.  Her  head,  her  heart,  and  other  parts  of  her 
body  were  borne  through  Paris  on  the  point  of  pikes!  "We 
must,"  said  the  wretches,  in  their  atrocious  language,  "  carry 
///'in  to  the  foot  of  the  throne."  They  ran  to  the  Temple,  and 
with  shouts  awoke  the  unfortunate  prisoners.  They  inquired 
in  alarm  what  was  the  matter.  The  municipal  officers  wished 
to  prevent  them  from  seeing  the  horrible  crew  under  the 
window,  and  the  bloody  head  uplifted  on  the  point  of  a  pike. 
At  length  one  of  the  national  guards  said  to  the  Queen,  "  It 
is  the  head  of  Lamballe  which  they  are  anxious  to  keep  you 
from  seeing."  At  these  words  the  Queen  fainted.  Madame 
Elizabeth,  the  King,  and  Clery.  the  valet-de-chambre,  carried 
away  the  unfortunate  Princess,  and  for  a  considerable  time 
afterwards  the  shouts  of  the  ferocious  rabble  rang  around  the 
walls  of  the  Temple. 

The  whole  day  of  the  3rd,  and  the  succeeding  night,  con- 
tinued to  be  sullied  by  these  massacres.  At  the  Bicetre  the 
carnage  was  longer  and    more   terrible    than   anywhere  else.f 

*  Sec  Appendix  G. 

t  "The  Bicetre  Hospital  was  tlic  scene  of  the  longest  and  the  most  bloody 
carnage.  This  prison  might  1"'  called  the  haunt  or  receptacle  of  every  vice;  it 
was  an  hospital,  also,  for  the  cure  of  the  foulest  and  most  afllictim;  diseases.  It 
Was  the  sink  of  Paris.     Every  creature  there  was  put  to  death.     It  is  impossible 


46  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

There  some  thousands  of  prisoners  were  confined,  as  everybody 
knows,  for  all  sorts  of  misdemeanours.  They  were  attacked, 
endeavoured  to  defend  themselves,  and  cannon  were  employed 
to  reduce  them.  A  member  of  the  general  council  of  the  com- 
mune even  had  the  audacity  to  apply  for  a  force  to  reduce  the 
prisoners,  who  were  defending  themselves.  He  was  not  listened 
to.  Petion  repaired  again  to  the  Bicetre,  but  to  no  purpose. 
The  thirst  for  blood  urged  on  the  multitude.  The  fury  of  fight- 
ing and  murdering  had  superseded  political  fanaticism,  and  it 
killed  for  the  sake  of  killing.  There  the  massacre  lasted  till 
Thursday  the  5th  of  September.* 

At  length  almost  all  the  victims  had  perished  ;  the  prisons 
were  empty.  The  infuriated  wretches  still  demanded  blood, 
but  the  dark  directors  of  so  many  murders  began  themselves 
to  be  accessible  to  pity.  The  expressions  of  the  commune 
assumed  a  milder  tone.  Deeply  moved,  it  said,  by  the  rigour 
exercised  against  the  prisoners,  it  issued  fresh  orders  for  stop- 
ping them  ;  and  this  time  it  was  better  obeyed.  There  were, 
however,  but  very  few  unhappy  individuals  left  to  benefit  by 
its  pity !  All  the  reports  of  the  time  differ  in  their  estimate 
of  the  number  of  the  victims.  That  estimate  varies  from  six 
to  twelve  thousand  in  the  prisons  of  Paris. f 

to  calculate  the  number  of  victims,  but  I  have  heard  them  calculated  at  6000. 
The  work  of  death  never  ceased  for  an  instant  during  eight  days  and  nights. 
Pikes,  swords,  and  guns  not  being  sufficient  for  the  ferocity  of  the  murderers, 
they  were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  cannon.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  were 
prisoners  seen  fighting  for  their  dungeons  and  their  chains.  They  made  a  long 
and  deadly  resistance,  but  were  all  eventually  assassinated." — Peltier. 

*  See  Appendix  H. 

t  "  Recapitulation  of  the  persons  massacred  in  the  different  prisons  at  Paris, 
from  Sunday  the  2nd  till  Friday  the  7th  of  September  1792  : — 

244  at  the  Convent  of  the  Carmelites,  and  at  St.  Firmin's  Seminary  ; 
180  at  the  Abbey  of  St.  Germain  ; 

73  at  the  Cloister  of  the  Bernardins  ; 

45  at  the  Hospital  of  La  Salpetriere  ; 

85  at  the  Conciergerie  ; 
214  at  the  Chatelet ; 
164  at  the  Hotel  de  la  Force. 


1005 

To  these  should  be  added  the  poor  creatures  who  were  put  to  death  in  the 
Hospital  of  Bicetre.  and  in  the  yards  at  La  Salpetriere  ;  those  who  were  drowned 
at  the  Hotel  de  la  Force ;  and  all  those  who  were  dragged  out  of  the  dungeons 
of  the  Conciergerie  and  the  Chatelet,  to  be  butchered  on  the  Pont-au-Change, 
the  number  of  whom  it  will  ever  be  impossible  wholly  to  ascertain,  but  which 
may  without  exaggeration  be  computed  at  8000  individuals." — Peltier. 

"The  small  number  of  those  who  perpetrated  these  murders  in  the  French 
capital  under  the  eyes  of  the  legislature  is  one  of  the  most  instructive  facts  in  the 
history  of  revolutions.  The  number  actually  engaged  in  the  massacres  did  not 
exceed  300  ;  and  twice  as  many  more  witnessed  and  encouraged  their  proceed- 
ings :  yet  this  handful  of  men  governed  Paris  and  France  with  a  despotism 


sept.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  47 

But  if  the  executions  spread  consternation,  the  audacity 
which  could  avow  and  recommend  the  imitation  of  them, 
excited  not  less  surprise  than  the  executions  themselves.  The 
committee  of  sura  ilia  nee  dared  to  address  a  circular  to  all  the 
communes  of  France,  which  history  ought  to  preserve,  together 
with  the  names  of  the  seven  persons  who  did  not  hesitate  to 
sign  it.  From  this  document  the  reader  may  form  some  con- 
ception of  the  fanaticism  produced  by  the  public  danger. 

Paris,  September  2,  1792. 

"Brethren  and  Friends, — A  horrid  plot,  hatched  by  the 
Court,  to  murder  all  the  patriots  of  the  French  empire,  a  plot 
in  which  a  great  number  of  members  of  the  National  Assembly 
are  implicated,  having  on  the  9th  of  last  month  reduced  the 
commune  of  Paris  to  the  cruel  necessity  of  employing  the 
power  of  the  people  to  save  the  nation,  it  has  not  neglected 
anything  to  deserve  well  of  the  country.  After  the  testi- 
monies which  the  National  Assembly  itself  had  just  given, 
could  it  have  been  imagined  that  fresh  plots  were  hatching  in 
secret,  and  that  they  would  break  forth  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  National  Assembly,  forgetting  its  recent  declaration 
that  the  commune  of  Paris  had  saved  the  country,  was  striving 
to  cashier  it  as  a  reward  for  its  ardent  patriotism  ?  At  these 
tidings  the  public  clamour  raised  on  all  sides  rendered  the 
National  Assembly  sensible  of  the  urgent  necessity  for  join- 
ing the  people,  and  restoring  to  the  commune,  with  reference 
to  the  decree  of  destitution,  the  power  with  which  it  had  in- 
vested it. 

"Proud  of  enjoying  in  the  fullest  measure  the  national 
confidence,  which  it  will  strive  to  deserve  more  and  more, 
placed  in  the  focus  of  all  conspiracies,  and  determined  to 
perish  for  the  public  welfare,  it  will  not  boast  of  having  done 
its  duty  till  it  shall  have  obtained  your  approbation,  which  is 
the  object  of  all  its  wishes,  and  of  which  it  will  not  be  certain 
till  all  the  departments  have  sanctioned  its  measures  for  the 
public  weal.      Professing  the  principles   of  the   most  perfect 

which  300,000  armed  warriors  afterwards  strove  in  vain  to  effect.  The  immense 
majority  ol  tin-  well-disposed  citizens,  divided  in  opinion,  irresolute  in  conduct, 
and  dispersed  in  various  quarters,  were  incapable  of  arresting  the  progress  of 
assassination.  It  is  not  less  worthy  of  observation  that  these  atrocities  took 
place  in  the  heart  of  a  city  where  above  50,000  men  were  enrolled  in  the  national 
guard,  and  had  arms  in  their  hands  !  When  the  murders  had  ceased,  the  re- 
mains of  the  victims  wciv  thrown  into  trenches  previously  prepared  by  the 
municipality  for  their  reception.  Tiny  were  subsequently  conveyed  to  the  cata- 
18,  where  they  were  built  up  ;  and  still  remain  the  monument  of  crimes 
unlit  to  be  thought  of,  and  which  France  would  gladly  bury  in  oblivion." — 
Alison. 


48  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

equality,  aspiring  to  no  other  privilege  than  that  of  being  the 
first  to  mount  the  breach,  it  will  feel  anxious  to  reduce  itself 
to  the  level  of  the  least  numerous  commune  of  the  empire  as  • 
soon  as  there  shall  be  nothing  more  to  dread. 

"Apprized  that  barbarous  hordes  are  advancing  against  it, 
the  commune  of  Paris  hastens  to  inform  its  brethren  in  all  the 
departments  that  part  of  the  ferocious  conspirators  confined  in 
the  prisons  has  been  put  to  death  by  the  people — acts  of 
justice  which  appeared  to  it  indispensable  for  repressing  by 
terror  the  legions  of  traitors  encompassed  by  its  walls  at  the 
moment  when  they  were  about  to  march  against  the  enemy  ; 
and  no  doubt  the  nation,  after  the  long  series  of  treasons  which 
have  brought  it  to  the  brink  of  the  abyss,  will  eagerly  adopt 
this  useful  and  necessary  expedient ;  and  all  the  French  will 
say,  like  the  Parisians — We  are  marching  against  the  enemy, 
and  we  will  not  leave  behind  us  brigands  to  murder  our  wives 
and  our  children. 

(Signed)  "  Duplain,  Panis,  Sergent,  Lenfant,  Mapat, 
Lefort,  Joupdeuil,  Administrators  of  the 
Committee  of  Surveillance,  constituted  at 
the  Mairie." 

Dumouriez,  as  we  have  seen,  had  already  held  a  council  of 
war  at  Sedan.  Dillon  had  there  proposed  to  fall  back  to 
Chalons,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  Marne  in  our  front, 
and  of  defending  the  passage  of  that  river.  The  disorder  pre- 
vailing among  the  twenty-three  thousand  men  left  to  Dumouriez  ; 
their  inability  to  make  head  against  eighty  thousand  Prussians, 
perfectly  organized  and  habituated  to  war ;  the  intention  attri- 
buted to  the  enemy  of  making  a  rapid  invasion  without  stopping 
at  the  fortresses — these  were  the  reasons  which  led  Dillon  to 
conceive  it  to  be  impossible  to  keep  the  Prussians  in  check, 
and  that  no  time  should  be  lost  in  retiring  before  them,  in 
order  to  seek  stronger  positions  which  might  make  amends. 
The  council  was  so  struck  by  these  reasons  that  it  coincided 
unanimously  in  Dillon's  opinion,  and  Dumouriez,  to  whom  as 
general-in-chief  the  decision  belonged,  replied  that  he  would 
consider  it. 

This  was  on  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  August.  A  resolu- 
tion was  here  taken  which  saved  France.  Several  persons 
dispute  the  honour  of  it.  Everything  proves  that  it  is  due  to 
Dumouriez.  The  execution  at  any  rate  renders  it  entirely  his 
own,  and  ought  to  earn  for  him  all  the  glory  of  it.  France,  as 
every  reader  knows,  is  defended  on  the  east  by  the  Rhine 
and  the  Vosges,  on  the  north  by  a  chain  of  fortresses  created 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  49 

by  the  genius  of  Yauban,  and  by  the  Meuse,  the  Moselle,  and 
various  streams,  which,  combined  with  the  fortified  towns,  con- 
stitute a  sum  total  of  obstacles  sufficient  to  protect  that  frontier. 
The  enemy  had  penetrated  into  France  from  the  north,  and 
had  directed  his  march  between  Sedan  and  Metz,  leaving  the 
attack  of  the  fortresses  of  the  Netherlands  to  the  Duke  of 
Saxe-Teschen,  and  masking  Metz  and  Lorraine  by  a  body  of 
troops.  Consistently  with  this  plan,  he  ought  to  have  marched 
rapidly,  profited  by  the  disorganization  of  the  French,  struck 
terror  into  them  by  decisive  blows,  and  even  taken  Lafayette's 
twenty-three  thousand  men  before  a  new  general  had  again 
given  them  unity  and  confidence.  But  the  struggle  between 
the  presumption  of  the  King  of  Prussia  and  the  prudence  of 
Brunswick  forbade  any  resolution,  and  prevented  the  allies 
fr<  ira  being  either  bold  or  prudent.  The  reduction  of  Verdun 
inflamed  still  more  the  vanity  of  Frederick  William  and  the 
ardour  of  the  emigrants,  but  without  giving  greater  activity  to 
Brunswick,  who  was  far  from  approving  of  the  invasion  with 
the  means  which  he  possessed,  and  with  the  disposition  of 
the  invaded  country.  After  the  capture  of  Verdun  on  the 
2nd  of  September,  the  allied  army  spread  itself  for  some  days 
over  the  plains  bordering  the  Meuse.  and  contented  itself  with 
occupying  Stenay  without  advancing  a  single  step.  Dumouriez 
was  at  Sedan,  and  his  army  encamped  in  the  environs. 

From  Sedan  to  Passavant  a  forest  extends,  the  name  of 
which  ought  to  be  for  ever  famous  in  our  annals.  This  is  the 
forest  of  Argonne,  which  covers  a  space  of  from  thirteen  to 
fifteen  leagues,  and  which,  from  the  inequalities  of  the  ground, 
and  the  mixture  of  wood  and  water,  is  absolutely  impenetrable 
to  an  army,  except  by  some  of  the  principal  passes.  Through 
this  forest  the  enemy  must  have  penetrated,  in  order  to  reach 
Chalons,  and  afterwards  take  the  road  to  Paris.  With  such  a 
plan  it  is  astonishing  that  he  had  not  yet  thought  of  occupying 
the  principal  passes,  and  thus  have  anticipated  Dumouriez,  who, 
from  his  position  at  Sedan,  was  separated  from  them  by  the 
whole  length  of  the  forest.  The  evening  after  the  council  of 
war  the  French  general  was  considering  the  map  with  an 
officer,  in  whose  talents  he  had  tin-  greatest  confidence.  Tins 
was  Thouvenot.  Pointing  with  his  finger  to  the  Argonne  and 
the  tracks  by  which  it  is  intersected.  '•That."  said  he,  "is 
the  Thermopylae  of  Prance.  If  I  can  but  get  thither  before 
the  Prussians,  all  will  be  saved." 

Thouvenot's  genius  took  fire  at  this  expression,  and  both 
fell  to  work  upon  the  details  of  this  grand  plan.  Its  advan- 
tages were  immense.     Instead  of  retreating  and  having  nothing 

\oi..  11.  32 


5  o  HISTOR  Y  OF  sept.  1792 

but  the  Marne  for  a  last  line  of  defence,  Dumouriez  would  by 
its  adoption  cause  the  enemy  to  lose  valuable  time,  and  oblige 
him  to  remain  in  Champagne,  the  desolate,  muddy,  sterile  soil 
of  which  could  not  furnish  supplies  for  an  army ;  neither  would 
he  give  up  to  the  invaders,  as  would  happen  if  he  retired  to 
Chalons,  the  Trois-Eveches,  a  rich  and  fertile  country,  where 
they  might  winter  very  comfortably,  in  case  they  should  not 
have  forced  the  Marne.  If  the  enemy,  after  losing  some  time 
before  the  forest,  attempted  to  turn  it,  and  directed  his  course 
towards  Sedan,  he  would  meet  with  the  fortresses  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  could 
reduce  them.  If  he  tried  the  other  extremity  of  the  forest,  he 
would  come  upon  Metz  and  the  army  of  the  centre.  Dumouriez 
would  then  set  out  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  by  joining  the  army 
of  Kellermann  he  might  form  a  mass  of  fifty  thousand  men, 
supported  by  Metz  and  several  other  fortified  towns.  At  all 
events  this  course  would  disappoint  him  of  the  object  of  his 
march,  and  cause  him  to  lose  this  campaign  ;  for  it  was  already 
September,  and  at  this  period  people  began  at  that  season  to 
take  up  winter  quarters.  This  plan  was  excellent,  but  the 
point  was  to  carry  it  into  execution  ;  and  the  Prussians  ranged 
along  the  Argonne,  while  Dumouriez  was  at  one  of  its  ex- 
tremities, might  have  occupied  its  passes.  Thus  then  the  issue 
of  this  grand  plan  and  the  fate  of  France  depended  on  accident 
and  a  fault  of  the  enemy. 

The  Argonne  is  intersected  by  five  defiles  called  Chene- 
Populeux,  Croix-aux-Bois,  Grand-Prey,  La  Chalade,  and  Islettes. 
The  most  important  are  those  of  Grand-Prey  and  Islettes  ;  and 
unluckily  these  were  the  farthest  from  Sedan,  and  the  nearest 
to  the  enemy.  Dumouriez  resolved  to  proceed  thither  with  his 
whole  force.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered  General  Dubouquet 
to  leave  the  department  of  the  Nord,  and  to  occupy  the  pass 
of  Chene-Populeux,  which  was  of  great  importance,  but  very 
near  Sedan,  and  the  occupation  of  which  was  less  urgent. 
Two  routes  presented  themselves  to  Dumouriez  for  marching 
to  Grand- Prey  and  Islettes.  One  was  in  the  rear  of  the  forest ; 
the  other  in  front  of  it,  and  in  face  of  the  enemy.  The  first, 
passing  in  the  rear  of  the  forest,  was  the  safer,  but  the  longer 
of  the  two.  It  would  reveal  our  designs  to  the  enemy,  and 
give  him  time  to  counteract  them.  The  other  was  shorter ;  but 
this,  too,  would  betray  our  intentions,  and  expose  our  march  to 
the  attacks  of  a  formidable  army.  It  would  in  fact  oblige  the 
French  general  to  skirt  the  woods,  and  to  pass  in  front  of 
Stenay,    where    Clairfayt  *    was    posted    with    his    Austrians, 

*  See  Appendix  I, 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  51 

Dumouriez  nevertheless  preferred  the  latter  route,  and  con- 
ceived the  bolder  plan.  He  concluded  that,  with  Austrian 
prudence,  the  general  would  not  fail,  on  the  appearance  of  the 
French,  to  entrench  himself  in  the  excellent  camp  of  Brouenne, 
and  that  he  might  in  the  meantime  give  him  the  slip  and 
proceed  to  Grand-Prey  and  Islettes. 

Accordingly.  011  the  30th,  Dillon  put  himself  in  motion,  and 
set  out  with  eight  thousand  men  for  Stenay,  marching  between 
the  Meuse  and  the  forest.  He  found  Clairfayt  occupying 
both  banks  of  the  river,  with  twenty-five  thousand  Austrians. 
General  Miaczinsky.  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  attacked  Clair- 
fayt's  advanced  posts,  while  Dillon,  posted  in  rear,  marched  to 
his  support  with  his  whole  division.  A  brisk  firing  ensued, 
and  Clairfayt.  immediately  recrossing  the  Meuse,  marched  for 
Brouenne,  as  Dumouriez  had  most  happily  foreseen.  Mean- 
while Dillon  boldly  proceeded  between  the  Meuse  and  the 
Argqnne.  Dumouriez  followed  him  closely  with  the  fifteen 
thousand  men  composing  his  main  body,  and  both  advanced 
towards  the  posts  which  were  assigned  to  them.  On  the  2nd. 
Dumouriez  was  at  Beffu.  and  he  had  but  one  march  more  to 
make  in  order  to  reach  Grand-Prev.  Dillon  was  on  the  same 
dav  at  Pierremont.  and  kept  advancing  with  extreme  boldness 
towards  Islettes.  Luckily  for  him,  General  Galbaud,  sent  to 
reinforce  the  garrison  of  Verdun,  had  arrived  too  late  and 
fallen  back  upon  Islettes,  which  he  thus  occupied  beforehand. 
Dillon  came  up  on  the  4th  with  his  ten  thousand  men,  estab- 
lished  himself  there,  and  moreover  occupied  La  Ohalade, 
another  secondary  pass,  which  was  committed  to  his  charge. 
Dumouriez  at  the  same  time  reached  ( '<  rand-Prey,  found  the 
post  vacant,  and  took  possession  of  it  on  the  3rd.  Thus  the 
third  and  fourth  of  the  passes  were  occupied  by  our  troops, 
and  the  salvation  of  Prance  was  considerably  advanced. 

It  was  by  this  bold  march,  which  was  at  least  as  meritorious 
as  the  idea  of  occupying  the  Argonne,  that  Dumouriez  placed 
himself  in  a  condition  to  resist  the  invasion.  But  this  was  not 
enough.  It  was  necessary  to  render  those  passes  inexpugnable, 
and  to  this  end  to  make  ;i  great  number  of  dispositions  de- 
pending on  many  chances. 

Dillon  entrenched  himself  at  the  Islettes.  He  made  abattis, 
threw  up  excellent  entrenchments,  and  skilfully  placing  the 
French  artillery,  which  was  numerous  and  excellent,  formed 
batteries  which  rendered  the  pa>s  inaccessible.  At  the  same 
time  he  occupied  Pa  Chalade,  and  thus  made  himself  master  of 
the  two  routes  leading  to  St.  Menehould.  and  from  St.  Mene- 
lo mid  to  Chulons,      Dumouriez  established  himself  at   Grand- 


5  2  HI  ST  OR  Y  OF  sept.  1792 

Prey  in  a  camp  rendered  formidable  both  by  nature  and  art. 
The  site  of  this  encampment  consisted  of  heights  rising  in  the 
form  of  an  amphitheatre.  At  the  foot  of  these  heights  lay 
extensive  meadows,  before  which  flowed  the  Aire,  forming  the 
UU  du  camp.  Two  bridges  were  thrown  over  the  Aire,  and  two 
very  strong  advanced  guards  were  placed  there,  with  orders  to 
burn  them,  and  to  retire  in  case  of  attack.  The  enemy,  after 
dislodging  these  advanced  troops,  would  have  to  effect  the 
passage  of  the  Aire,  without  the  help  of  bridges,  and  under 
the  fire  of  all  our  artillery.  Having  passed  the  river,  he  would 
then  have  to  advance  through  a  basin  of  meadows  crossed  by 
a  thousand  fires,  and  lastly,  to  storm  steep  and  almost  in- 
accessible entrenchments.  In  case  all  these  obstacles  should 
be  overcome,  Dumouriez,  retreating  by  the  heights  which  he 
occupied,  would  descend  the  back  of  them,  find  at  their  foot 
the  Aisne,  another  stream  which  skirted  them  on  that  side, 
cross  two  bridges  which  he  would  destroy,  and  thus  again  place 
a  river  between  himself  and  the  Prussians.  This  camp  might 
be  considered  as  impregnable,  and  there  the  French  general 
would  be  sufficiently  secure  to  turn  his  attention  cjuietly  to  the 
whole  theatre  of  the  war. 

On  the  7th,  General  Dubouquet,  with  six  thousand  men, 
occupied  the  pass  of  Chene-Populeux.  There  was  now  left 
only  the  much  less  important  pass  of  Croix-anx-Bois,  which 
lay  between  Chene-Populeux  and  Grand- Prey.  There  Dumou- 
riez, having  first  caused  the  road  to  be  broken  up  and  trees 
felled,  posted  a  colonel  with  two  battalions  and  two  squadrons. 
Placed  thus  in  the  centre  of  the  forest,  and  in  a  cam])  that 
was  impregnable,  he  defended  the  principal  pass  with  fifteen 
thousand  men.  On  his  right,  at  the  distance  of  four  leagues, 
was  Dillon,  who  guarded  the  Islettes  and  La  Chalade  with 
eight  thousand.  On  his  left  Dubouquet,  who  occupied  the 
Chene-Populeux  with  six  thousand ;  and  a  colonel  with  a  few 
companies  watched  the  road  of  the  Croix-aux-Bois,  which  was 
deemed  of  very  inferior  importance. 

His  whole  defence  being  thus  arranged,  he  had  time  to  wait 
for  reinforcements,  and  he  hastened  to  give  orders  accordingly. 
He  directed  Beurnonville  *  to  quit  the  frontier  of  the  Nether- 
lands, where  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Teschen  was  not  attempting 
anything  of  importance,  and  to  be  at  Eethel  on  the  13th  of 
September,  with  ten  thousand  men.  He  fixed  upon  Chalons 
as  the  depot  for  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  for  the 
rendezvous  of  the  recruits  and  reinforcements  which  had  been 

*  See  Appendix  J. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  5  3 

sent  off  to  him.  He  thus  collected  in  his  rear  all  the  means  of 
composing  a  sufficient  resistance.  At  the  same  time  he  in- 
formed the  executive  power  that  he  had  occupied  the  Argonne. 
"  Grand-Prey  and  the  Islettes,"  he  wrote,  "  are  our  Ther- 
mopylae ;  but  I  shall  be  more  fortunate  than  Leonidas."  He 
begged  that  some  regiments  might  be  detached  from  the  army 
of  the  Rhine,  which  was  not  threatened,  and  that  they  might 
be  joined  to  the  army  of  the  centre,  now  under  the  command 
of  Kellermann.  The  intention  of  the  Prussians  being  evidently 
to  march  upon  Paris,  because  they  masked  Montmedy  and 
Thionville  without  stopping  before  them,  he  proposed  that 
Kellermann  should  be  ordered  to  skirt  their  left,  by  Ligny  and 
Bar-le-Duc,  and  thus  take  them  in  Hank  and  rear  during  their 
offensive  march.  In  consequence  of  all  these  dispositions,  if 
the  Prussians  should  go  higher  up  without  attempting  to  force 
the  Argonne,  Dumouriez  would  be  at  Revigny  before  them, 
and  would  there  find  Kellermann  arriving  from  Metz  with 
the  army  of  the  centre.  If  they  descended  towards  Sedan. 
Dumouriez  would  still  follow  them,  fall  in  with  Beurnonville's 
ten  thousand  men,  and  wait  for  Kellermann  on  the  banks  of 
the  Aisne  ;  and  in  both  cases  the  junction  would  produce  a 
total  of  sixty  thousand  men,  capable  of  showing  themselves  in 
the  open  field. 

The  executive  power  omitted  nothing  to  second  Dumouriez 
in  his  excellent  plans.  Servan,  the  minister  at  war,  though  in 
ill  health,  attended  without  intermission  to  the  provisioning  of 
the  armies,  to  the  despatching  of  necessaries  and  ammunition, 
and  to  the  assemblage  of  the  new  levies.  From  fifteen  hundred 
to  two  thousand  volunteers  daily  left  Paris.  A  military  enthu- 
siasm  seized  all  classes,  and  people  hurried  away  in  crowds  to 
join  the  army.  The  halls  of  the  patriotic  societies,  the  councils 
of  the  commune,  and  the  Assembly  were  incessantly  traversed 
by  companies  raised  spontaneously,  and  marching  off  for  Chalons, 
the  general  rendezvous  of  the  volunteers.  These  young  soldiers 
lacked  nothing  but  discipline  and  familiarity  with  the  field  of 
battle,  in  which  they  were'  yet  deficient,  but  which  they  were 
likely  soon  to  accpiire  under  an  able  general. 

The  Girondins  were  personal  enemies  of  Dumouriez,  and 
bhej  bad  given  him  but  little  of  their  confidence  ever  since  he 
expelled  bhem  from  the  ministry.  They  had  even  endeavoured 
to  supersede  him  in  the  chief  command  by  an  officer  named 
Grimoard.  Bui  they  had  again  rallied  round  him  as  soon  as 
In-  seemed  to  lie  charged  with  the  destinies  of  the  country. 
Roland,  the  best,  the  most  disinterested  of  them,  had  written 
him  a  touching  letter  to  assure  him  that  all  was  forgotten,  and 


54  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

that  his  friends  all  wished  for  nothing  more  ardently  than  to 
have  to  celebrate  his  victories. 

Dumouriez  had  thus  vigorously  seized  upon  this  frontier, 
and  made  himself  the  centre  of  vast  movements,  till  then  too 
tardy  and  too  unconnected.  He  had  happily  occupied  the 
defiles  of  the  Argonne,  taken  a  position  which  afforded  the 
armies  time  to  collect  and  to  organize  themselves  in  his  rear ; 
he  was  bringing  together  all  the  corps  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  an  imposing  mass  ;  he  had  placed  Kellermann  under 
the  necessity  of  coming  to  receive  his  orders  ;  he  commanded 
with  vigour,  he  acted  with  promptness,  he  kept  up  the  spirits 
of  his  soldiers  by  appearing  in  the  midst  of  them,  by  testifying 
great  confidence  in  them,  and  by  making  them  wish  for  a 
speedy  rencounter  with  the  enemy. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  on  the  iotli  of  September. 
The  Prussians  passed  along  all  our  posts,  skirmished  on  the 
front  of  all  our  entrenchments,  and  were  everywhere  repulsed. 
Dumouriez  had  formed  secret  communications  in  the  interior  of 
the  forest,  by  which  he  sent  to  the  points  that  were  threatened 
unexpected  reinforcements,  which  caused  the  enemy  to  believe 
our  army  to  be  twice  as  strong  as  it  really  was.  On  the  1  ith 
there  was  a  general  attempt  upon  Grand-Prey ;  but  General 
Miranda,  posted  at  Mortaume,  and  General  Stengel  at  St. 
Jouvian,  repulsed  all  the  attacks  with  complete  success.  On 
several  points  the  soldiers,  encouraged  by  their  position  and 
the  attitude  of  their  leaders,  leaped  over  the  entrenchments, 
and  met  the  approaching  assailants  at  the  point  of  the"  bayonet. 
These  combats  occupied  the  army,  which  was  sometimes  in 
want  of  provisions,  owing  to  the  disorder  inseparable  from 
sudden  service.  But  the  cheerfulness  of  the  general,  who 
fared  no  better  than  his  troops,  produced  universal  resigna- 
tion ;  and  though  dysentery  began  to  make  its  appearance, 
still  the  camp  of  Grand-Prey  was  tolerably  healthy.  The 
superior  officers  only,  who  doubted  the  possibility  of  a  long 
resistance,  and  the  ministry,  who  had  no  conception  of  it 
either,  talked  of  a  retreat  behind  the  Marne,  and  annoyed 
Dumouriez  with  their  suggestions.  He  wrote  energetic  letters 
to  the  ministers,  and  imposed  silence  on  his  officers  by  telling 
them  that  when  he  wanted  their  advice  he  would  call  a 
council  of  war. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  escape  the  disadvantages 
incident  to  his  qualities.  Thus  the  extreme  promptness  of 
Dumouriez's  mind  frequently  hurried  him  on  to  act  without 
due  reflection.  In  his  ardour  to  conceive  it  had  already 
happened   that    he    had    forgotten    to   calculate   the    material 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  5$ 

obstacles  to  his  plans ;  especially  when  he  ordered  Lafayette 
to  proceed  from  Metz  to  Givet.  Here  he  committed  a  capital 
fault,  which,  had  he  possessed  less  energy  of  mind  and  cool- 
ness, might  have  occasioned  the  loss  of  the  campaign.  Between 
the  Chene-Populeux  and  (■'rand-Prey  there  was,  as  we  have 
stated,  a  secondary  pass,  which  had  been  deemed  of  very 
inferior  consequence,  and  was  defended  by  no  more  than  two 
battalions  and  two  squadrons.  Wholly  engrossed  by  concerns 
of  the  highest  importance,  Dumouriez  had  not  gone  to  inspect 
that  pass  with  his  own  e}Tes.  Having,  moreover,  but  few  men 
to  post  there,  he  had  easily  persuaded  himself  that  some 
hundreds  would  be  sufficient  to  guard  it.  To  crown  the  mis- 
fortune, the  colonel  whom  Dumouriez  had  placed  there  per- 
suaded him  that  part  of  the  troops  at  that  post  might  be 
withdrawn,  and  that  if  the  roads  were  broken  up,  a  few 
volunteers  would  suffice  to  maintain  the  defensive  at  that 
point.  Dumouriez  suffered  himself  to  be  misled  by  this 
colonel,  an  old  officer,  whom  he  deemed  worthy  of  confidence. 

Meanwhile  Brunswick  had  caused  our  different  posts  to  be 
examined,  and  for  a  moment  he  entertained  the  design  of 
skirting  the  forest  as  far  as  Sedan,  for  the  purpose  of  turning 
it  towards  that  extremity.  It  appears  that  during  this  move- 
ment the  spies  discovered  the  negligence  of  the  French  general. 
The  ( Voix-aux-Bois  was  attacked  by  the  Austrians  and  the 
emigrants  commanded  by  the  Prince  de  Ligne.  The  abattis 
had  scarcely  been  made,  the  roads  were  not  broken  up,  and 
the  pass  was  occupied  without  resistance  on  the  morning  of 
the  13th.  No  sooner  had  the  unpleasant  tidings  reached 
Dumouriez  than  he  sent  General  Chasot,  a  very  brave  officer, 
with  two  brigades,  six  squadrons,  and  four  eight-pounders,  to 
recover  possession  of  the  pass,  and  to  drive  the  Austrians  from 
it.  He  ordered  them  to  be  attacked  as  briskly  as  possible  with 
the  bayonet  before  they  had  time  to  entrench  themselves.  The 
13th  and  14th  passed  before  General  Chasot  could  execute  the 
orders  which  he  had  received.  At  length  on  the  15th  he 
attacked  with  vigour,  and  repulsed  the  enemy,  who  lost  the 
post  and  their  commander,  the  Prince  de  ligne.  Put  being 
attacked  two  hours  afterwards  by  a  very  superior  force,  before 
he  could  entrench  himself,  he  was  in  his  turn  repulsed,  and 
entirely  dispossessed  of  the  Croix-aux-Bois.  ( lhasot  was  more- 
over  cut  oil'  from  Grand-Prey,  and  could  not  retire  towards  the 
main  army,  which  was  thus  weakened  by  all  the  troops  that 
he  had  with  him.  He  immediately  fell  back  upon  Youziers. 
General  Dubouquet,  commanding  at  the  Chene-Populeux, 
and     thus     far     successful     in     his    resistance,    seeing    himself 


56  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

separated  from  Grand- Prey,  conceived  that  he  ought  not  to  run 
the  risk  of  being  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  who,  having  broken 
the  line  at  the  Croix-aux-Bois,  was  about  to  debouch  en  masse. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  decamp,  and  to  retreat,  by  Attigny 
and  Somme-Puis,  upon  Chalons.  Thus  the  fruit  of  so  many 
bold  combinations  and  lucky  accidents  was  lost.  The  only 
obstacle  that  could  be  opposed  to  the  invasion,  the  Argonne, 
was  surmounted,  and  the  road  to  Paris  was  thrown  open. 

Dumouriez,  separated  from  Chasot  and  Dubouquet,  was 
reduced  to  fifteen  thousand  men  ;  and  if  the  enemy,  debouch- 
ing rapidly  by  the  Croix-aux-Bois,  should  turn  the  position  of 
Grand-Prey,  and  occupy  the  passes  of  the  Aisne,  which,  as  we 
have  said,  served  for  an  outlet  to  the  rear  of  the  camp,  the 
French  general  would  be  undone.  Having  forty  thousand 
Prussians  in  front,  twenty-five  thousand  Austrians  in  his  rear, 
hemmed  in  with  fifteen  thousand  men  by  sixty-five  thousand, 
by  two  rivers,  and  by  the  forest,  he  could  do  nothing  but  lay 
down  his  arms,  or  cause  his  soldiers  to  the  very  last  man  to 
be  uselessly  slaughtered.  The  only  army  upon  which  France 
relied  would  thus  be  annihilated,  and  the  allies  might  take 
without  impediment  the  road  to  the  capital. 

In  this  desperate  situation  the  general  was  not  discouraged, 
but  maintained  an  admirable  coolness.  His  first  care  was  to 
think  the  very  same  day  of  retreating,  for  it  was  his  most 
urgent  duty  to  save  himself  from  the  Caudine  forks.  He  con- 
sidered that  on  his  right  he  was  in  contact  with  Dillon,  who 
was  yet  master  of  the  Islettes  and  the  road  to  St.  Meriehonld  ; 
that  by  retiring  upon  the  rear  of  the  latter,  and  placing  his  back 
against  Dillon's,  they  should  both  face  the  enemy,  the  one  at  the 
Islettes,  the  other  at  St.  Menehould,  and  thus  present  a  double 
entrenched  front.  There  they  might  await  the  junction  of  the 
two  generals  Chasot  and  Dubouquet,  detached  from  the  main 
body  ;  that  of  Beurnonville.  ordered  from  Flanders  to  be  at 
Bethel  on  the  1 3th  ;  and  lastly,  that  of  Kellermann,  who,  having 
been  more  than  ten  days  on  his  march,  could  not  fail  very  soon 
to  arrive  with  his  army.  This  plan  was  the  best  and  the  most 
accordant  with  the  system  of  Dumouriez,  which  consisted  in 
not  falling  back  into  the  interior,  towards  an  open  country,  but 
in  maintaining  his  ground  in  a  difficult  one,  in  gaining  time 
there,  and  in  placing  himself  in  a  position  to  form  a  junction 
with  the  army  of  the  centre.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  were  to 
fall  back  on  Chalons,  he  would  be  pursued  as  a  fugitive;  he 
would  execute  with  disadvantage  a  retreat  which  he  might 
have  made  more  beneficially  at  first ;  and  above  all,  he  would 
render  it  impossible  for  Kellermann  to  join  him.     It  showed 


sept.  1 7  9  2       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  5  7 

great  boldness,  after  such  an  accident  as  had  befallen  him  at 
the  (Jroix-aux-Bois.  to  persist  in  his  system  ;  and  it  required 
at  the  moment  as  much  genius  as  energy  not  to  give  way  to 
the  oft-repeated  advice  to  retire  behind  the  Marne.  But  then 
again,  how  many  lucky  accidents  does  it  not  require  to  succeed 
in  a  retreat  so  difficult,  so  closely  watched,  and  executed  with 
so  small  a  force  in  the  presence  of  so  powerful  an  enemy  !  * 

He  immediately  sent  orders  to  Beurnonville,  who  was  already 
proceeding  towards  Bethel,  to  Chasot,  from  whom  he  had  just 
received  favourable  tidings,  and  to  l)ubouc|uet,  who  had  retired 
to  Attigny.  to  repair  all  of  them  to  St.  Menehould.  At  the 
same  time  he  despatched  fresh  instructions  to  Kellermann  to 
continue  his  march  ;  for  he  was  afraid  lest  Kellermann,  on 
hearing  of  the  loss  of  the  defiles,  should  determine  to  return 
to  Metz.  Having  made  these  arrangements,  and  received  a 
Prussian  officer,  who  demanded  a  parley,  and  shown  him  the 
camp  in  the  best  order,  he  directed  the  tents  to  be  struck  at 
midnight,  and  the  troops  to  march  in  silence  towards  the  two 
bridges  which  served  for  outlets  to  the  camp  of  Grand-Prey. 
Luckily  for  him,  the  enemy  had  not  yet  thought  of  penetrating 
by  the  Croix-aux-Bois.  and  overwhelming  the  French  positions. 
The  weather  was  stormy,  and  covered  the  retreat  of  the  French 
with  darkness.  They  marched  all  night  on  the  most  execrable 
roads,  and  the  army,  which  fortunately  had  not  had  time  to 
take  alarm,  retired  without  knowing  the  motive  of  this  change 
of  position. 

By  eight  in  the  morning  of  the  next  day.  the  1 6th.  all  the 
troops  had  crossed  the  Aisne.  Dumouriez  had  escaped,  and  he 
halted  in  order  of  battle  on  the  heights  of  Autry,  four  leagues 
from  Grand-Prey.  He  was  not  pursued,  considered  himself 
saved,  and  was  advancing  towards  Dammartin-sur-Hans.  with 
the  intention  of  there  choosing  an  encampment  for  the  day. 
when  suddenly  ;t  number  of  runaways  came  up  shouting  that 
all  was  lost,  and  that  the  enemy,  falling  upon  our  rear,  had 
put  the  army  to  the  rout.  On  hearing  this  clamour,  Dumouriez 
hastened  1m  the  spot,  returned  to  his  rearguard,  and  found 
.Miranda,  the  Peruvian. f  and  old  General  Duval,  rallying  the 
fugitives,  and  with  great  firmness  restoring  order  in  the  ranks 
of  the  army,  which  some  Prussian  hu>sars  had  for  a  moment 
surprised  and  broken.  The  inexperience  of  these  young  troops, 
and  the  Pear  of  treachery,  which  then  Idled  all  minds,  rendered 

"  "  Never  was  the  situation  of  an  army  more  desperate  than  at  tliis  criti- 
cal period.  France  was  within  a  hair's-breadth  of  destruction." — Dumouriez' & 
Mi  mtiirx. 

t  Sec  Appendix  K. 


5  8  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  sept.  1792 

panic  terrors  both  very  easy  and  very  frequent.  All,  how- 
ever, was  retrieved,  owing  to  the  efforts  of  the  three  generals, 
Miranda,  Duval,  and  Stengel,  who  belonged  to  the  rearguard. 
The  army  bivouacked  at  Dammartin,  with  the  hope  of  soon 
backing  upon  the  Islettes,  and  thus  happily  terminating  this 
perilous  retreat. 

Dumouriez  had  been  for  twenty  hours  on  horseback.  He 
alighted  at  six  in  the  evening,  when  all  at  once  he  again 
heard  shouts  of  Sauve  qui  pent !  and  imprecations  against  the 
generals  who  betrayed  the  soldiers,  and  especially  against  the 
commander-in-chief,  who,  it  was  said,  had  just  gone  over  to 
the  enemy.  The  artillery  had  put  horses  to  the  guns,  and 
were  about  to  seek  refuge  on  an  eminence.  All  the  troops 
were  confounded.  Dumouriez  caused  large  fires  to  be  kindled, 
and  issued  orders  for  halting  on  the  spot  all  night.  Thus  they 
passed  ten  hours  more  in  mud  and  darkness.  More  than  fifteen 
hundred  fugitives,  running  off  across  the  country,  reported  at 
Paris  and  throughout  France  that  the  army  of  the  North, 
the  last  hope  of  the  country,  was  lost,  and  given  up  to  the 
enemy. 

By  the  following  day  all  was  repaired.  Dumouriez  wrote  to 
the  National  Assembly  with  his  usual  assurance.  "  I  have 
been  obliged  to  abandon  the  camp  of  Grand-Prey.  The  retreat 
was  accomplished,  when  a  panic  terror  seized  the  army.  Ten 
thousand  men  fled  before  fifteen  hundred  Prussian  hussars. 
The  loss  amounts  to  no  more  than  fifty  men  and  some  baggage. 
All  is  retrieved,  and  I  make  myself  responsible  for  every- 
thing." Nothing  less  was  requisite  to  dispel  the  terrors  of 
Paris  and  of  the  executive  council,  which  was  about  to  urge 
the  general  afresh  to  cross  the  Marne. 

St.  Menehould,  whither  Dumouriez  was  marching,  is  situated 
on  the  Aisne,  one  of  the  two  rivers  which  encompassed  the 
camp  of  Grand-Prey.  Dumouriez  had  therefore  to  march 
along  that  river  against  the  stream ;  but  before  he  reached 
it  he  had  to  cross  three  deep  rivulets  which  fall  into  it — 
the  Tourbe,  the  Bionne,  and  the  Auve.  Beyond  these  rivulets 
was  the  camp  which  he  intended  to  occupy.  In  front  of  St. 
Menehould  rises  a  circular  range  of  heights,  three-quarters  of 
a  league  in  leng-th.  At  their  foot  extend  low  grounds,  in 
which  the  Auve  forms  marshes  before  it  falls  into  the  Aisne. 
These  low  grounds  are  bordered  on  the  right  by  the  heights  of 
the  Hyron,  faced  by  those  of  La  Lune,  and  on  the  left  by  those 
of  Gisaucourt.  In  the  centre  of  the  basin  are  several  eleva- 
tions, but  inferior  to  those  of  St.  Menehould.  The  hill  of 
Valmy  is  one,  and  it  is  immediately  opposite  to  the  hills  of  La 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  5  9 

Lune.  The  highroad  from  Chalons  to  St.  Menehould  passes 
through  this  basin,  almost  in  a  parallel  direction  to  the  course 
of  the  Auve.  It  was  at  St.  Menehould  and  above  this  basin 
that  Dumouriez  posted  himself.  He  caused  all  the  important 
positions  around  him  to  be  occupied,  and  supporting  his  back 
against  Dillon,  desired  him  to  maintain  his  ground  against 
the  enemy.  He  thus  occupied  the  highroad  to  Paris  upon 
three  points — the  Islettes,  St.  Menehould,  and  Chfilons. 

The  Prussians,  however,  if  they  advanced  by  Grand-Prey, 
might  leave  him  at  St.  Menehould,  and  get  to  Chalons.  Dn- 
mouriez therefore  ordered  Duboucjuet,  of  whose  safe  arrival  at 
Chalons  he  had  received  intelligence,  to  place  himself  with 
his  division  in  the  camp  of  l'Epine,  and  there  to  collect  all 
the  recently  arrived  volunteers,  in  order  to  protect  Chalons 
from  a  cuuj)  tl,  main.  He  was  afterwards  joined  by  Chasot, 
and  lastly  by  Beurnonville.  The  latter  had  come  in  sight  of 
St.  Menehould  on  the  15th.  Seeing  an  army  in  good  order, 
he  had  supposed  that  it  was  the  enemy,  for  he  could  not 
suppose  that  Dumouriez.  who  was  reported  to  be  beaten,  had 
so  soon  retrieved  the  disaster.  Under  this  impression  he  had 
fallen  back  upon  Chalons,  and  having  there  learned  the  real 
state  of  the  case,  he  had  returned,  and  on  the  19th  taken 
up  the  position  of  Maffrecourt,  on  the  right  of  the  camp. 
He  had  brought  up  these  ten  thousand  brave  fellows,  whom 
Dumouriez  had  exercised  for  a  month  in  the  camp  of  Maulde, 
amidst  a  continual  war  of  posts.  Reinforced  by  Beurnonville 
and  Chasot.  Dumouriez  could  number  thirty-five  thousand 
men.  Thus,  owing  to  his  firmness  and  presence  of  mind,  he 
again  found  himself  placed  in  a  very  strong  position,  and 
enabled  to  temporize  for  a  considerable  time  to  come.  Put 
if  the  enemy,  getting  the  start,  and  leaving  him  behind,  should 
hasten  forward  to  Chalons,  what  then  would  become  of  his 
camp  of  St.  Menehould?  There  was  ground,  therefore,  for 
tin'  same  apprehensions  as  before,  and  his  precautions  in  the 
camp  of  l'Epine  were  far  from  being  capable  of  preventing 
such  a  danger. 

Two  movements  were  very  slowly  operating  around  him — 
that  of  Brunswick,  who  hesitated  in  his  march;  and  that  of 
Ktlli  1111,11111.  who.  having  set  out  on  the  4th  from  Metz,  had 
not  ye1  arrived  at  the  specified  point,  though  he  had  been  a 
fortnighl  on  the  road.  But  if  the  tardiness  of  Brunswick  was 
serviceable  to  Dumouriez,  that  of  Kellermann  compromized 
him  exceedingly.  Kellermann,  prudent  and  irresolute,  though 
very  brave,  hail  alternately  advanced  and  retreated,  according 
to  the   movements  of  the   Prussian  army:  and  again  on  the 


60  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

17th.  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the  loss  of  the  denies,  he 
had  made  one  march  backward.  On  the  evening  of  the  19th, 
however,  he  had  sent  word  to  Dumouriez  that  he  was  no 
more  than  two  leagues  from  St.  Menehonld.  Dumouriez  had 
reserved  for  him  the  heights  of  Gisaucourt,  situated  on  his  left, 
and  commanding  the  road  to  Chalons  and  the  stream  of  the 
Auve.  He  had  sent  him  directions  that  in  case  of  a  battle 
he  might  deploy  on  the  secondary  heights,  and  advance  upon 
Yalmy,  beyond  the  Auve.  Dumouriez  had  not  time  to  go  and 
place  his  colleague  himself.  Kellermann,  crossing  the  Auve 
on  the  night  of  the  19th,  advanced  to  Yalmy,  in  the  centre 
of  the  basin,  and  neglected  the  heights  of  Gisaucourt.  which 
formed  the  left  of  the  camp  of  St.  Menehould,  and  commanded 
those  of  La  Lune,  upon  which  the  Prussians  were  arriving. 

At  this  moment,  in  fact,  the  Prussians,  debouching  by 
Grand -Prey,  had  come  in  sight  of  the  French  army,  and 
ascending  the  heights  of  La  Lune,  already  discovered  the 
ground  on  the  summit  of  which  Dumouriez  was  stationed. 
Relinquishing  the  intention  of  a  rapid  march  upon  Chalons, 
they  rejoiced,  it  is  said,  to  find  the  two  French  generals 
together,  conceiving  that  they  could  capture  both  at  once. 
Their  object  was  to  make  themselves  masters  of  the  road  to 
Chalons,  to  proceed  to  Vitry,  to  force  Dillon  at  the  Islettes, 
thus  to  surround  St.  Menehould  on  all  sides,  and  to  oblige  the 
two  armies  to  lay  down  their  arms. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  Kellermann.  who,  instead  of 
occupying  the  heights  of  Gisaucourt,  had  proceeded  to  the 
centre  of  the  basin,  to  the  mill  of  Valmy,  found  himself  com- 
manded in  front  by  the  heights  of  La  Lune,  occupied  by  the 
enemy.  On  one  side  he  had  the  Hyron,  which  the  French 
held,  but  which  they  were  liable  to  lose ;  on  the  other,  Gisau- 
court, which  he  had  not  occupied,  and  where  the  Prussians 
were  about  to  establish  themselves.  In  case  he  should  be 
beaten,  he  would  be  driven  into  the  marshes  of  the  Auve, 
situated  behind  the  mill  of  Valmy,  and  he  might  be  utterly 
destroved,  before  he  could  join  Dumouriez.  in  the  bottom  of 
this  amphitheatre.  He  immediately  sent  to  his  colleague  for 
assistance.     But  the  King  of  Prussia,*  seeing  a  great  bustle 

*  "  In  the  course  of  one  of  the  Prussian  marches  the  King  of  Prussia  met  a 
young  soldier  with  his  knapsack  on  his  back,  and  an  old  musket  in  his  hands. 
'  Where  are  you  going  ? '  asked  his  Majesty.  '  To  fight,'  replied  the  soldier.  '  By 
that  answer,'  rejoined  the  monarch,  'I  recognize  the  noblesse  of  France.'  He 
saluted  him  and  passed  on.  The  soldier's  name  has  since  become  immortal.  It 
was  Francois  Chateaubriand,  then  returning  from  his  travels  in  North  America, 
to  share  in  the  dangers  of  the  throne  in  his  native  country." — Chateaubriand's 
Memoirs. 


sept.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  6 1 

in  the  French  army,  and  conceiving  that  the  generals  designed 
to  proceed  to  Chalons,  resolved  immediately  to  close  the  road 
to  it,  and  gave  orders  for  the  attack.  On  the  road  to  Chalons 
the  Prussian  advanced  guard  met  that  of  Kellermann,  who 
was  with  his  main  body  on  the  hill  of  Yalmy.  A  brisk  action 
ensued,  and  the  French,  who  were  at  first  repulsed,  were  ral- 
lied, and  afterwards  supported  by  the  carabineers  of  General 
Valence.  From  the  heights  of  La  Lune  a  cannonade  was 
kept  up  against  the  mill  of  Yalmy,  and  our  artillery  warmly 
returned  the  fire  of  the  Prussians. 

Kellermann's  situation,  however,  was  extremely  perilous. 
His  troops  were  confusedly  crowded  together  on  the  hill  of 
Yalmy,  and  too  much  incommoded  to  fight  there.  They  were 
cannonaded  from  the  heights  of  La  Lune  ;  their  left  suffered 
severely  from  the  fire  of  the  Prussians  on  those  of  Gisaucourt ; 
the  Hyron,  which  flanked  their  right,  was  actually  occupied  by 
the  French,  but  Clairfayt,  attacking  this  post,  with  his  twenty- 
five  thousand  Austrians,  might  take  it  from  them.  In  this 
case,  Kellermann,  exposed  to  a  fire  from  every  side,  might  be 
driven  from  Yalmy  into  the  Auve,  whilst  it  might  not  be  in  the 
power  of  Dumouriez  to  assist  him.  The  latter  immediately 
sent  General  Stengel  with  a  strong  division  to  support  the 
French  on  the  Hyron.  and  to  protect  the  right  of  Yalmy.  He 
directed  Beurnonville  to  support  Stengel  with  sixteen  battalions, 
and  he  sent  Chasot  with  nine  battalions  and  eight  squadrons, 
along  the  Chalons  road,  to  occupy  Gisaucourt,  and  to  flank 
Kellermann's  left.  But  Chasot,  on  approaching  Yalmy,  sent  to 
Kellermann  for  orders,  instead  of  advancing  upon  Gisaucourt. 
and  left  the  Prussians  time  to  occupy  it,  and  to  open  a  de- 
si  inctive  fire  from  that  point  upon  us.  Kellermann,  however, 
supported  on  the  right  and  left,  was  enabled  to  maintain  him- 
self at  the  mill  of  Yalmy.  Unluckily  a  shell  falling  on  an 
ammunition-waggon  caused  it  to  explode  and  threw  the  in- 
fantry into  disorder.  This  was  increased  by  the  cannon  of  La 
Lune,  and  the  first  line  began  already  to  give  way.  Keller- 
mann. perceiving  this  movement,  hastened  through  the  ranks, 
rallied  them,  and  restored  confidence.  Brunswick  conceived 
this  to  be  a  favourable  moment  for  ascending  the  height  and 
overthrowing  the  French  troops  with  the  bayonet. 

It  was  now  noon.  A  thick  fog  which  had  enveloped  the 
two  armies  had  cleared  off.  They  had  a  distinct  view  of  each 
other,  and  our  yumg  soldiers  beheld  the  Prussians  advancing 
in  three  columns  with  the  assurance  of  veteran  troops  habitu- 
ated to  warfare.  It  was  the  first  time  that  they  found  them- 
selves to  the  number  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  on  the  field 


62  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

of  battle,  and  that  they  were  about  to  cross  bayonets.  They 
knew  not  yet  either  themselves  or  the  enemy,  and  they  looked 
at  each  other  with  uneasiness.  Kellermann  went  into  the 
trenches,  disposed  his  troops  in  columns  with  a  battalion  in 
front,  and  ordered  them,  when  the  Prussians  should  be  at  a 
certain  distance,  not  to  wait  for  them,  but  to  run  forward  and 
meet  them  with  the  bayonet.  Then  raising  his  voice,  he  cried 
Vive  la  nation  !  His  men  might  be  brave  or  cowards.  The 
cry  of  Vive  la  nation!  however,  roused  their  courage,  and' our 
young  soldiers,  catching  the  spirit  of  their  commander,  marched 
on,  shouting  Vive  la  nation  !  At  this  sight  Brunswick,  who 
hazarded  the  attack  with  repugnance  and  with  considerable 
apprehension  for  the  result,  hesitated,  halted  his  columns,  and 
finally  ordered  them  to  return  to  the  camp. 

This  trial  was  decisive.  From  that  moment  people  gave 
credit  for  valour  to  those  cobblers  and  those  tailors  of  whom 
the  emigrants  said  that  the  French  army  was  composed.  They 
had  seen  men  equipped,  clothed,  and  brave  ;  they  had  seen 
officers  decorated  and  full  of  experience  ;  a  General  Duval, 
whose  majestic  stature  and  gray  hair  inspired  respect ;  Keller- 
mann, and  lastly  Dumouriez,  displaying  the  utmost  firmness 
and  skill  in  presence  of  so  superior  an  enemy.  At  this  mo- 
ment the  French  Revolution  was  appreciated,  and  that  chaos, 
till  then  ridiculous,  ceased  to  be  regarded  in  any  other  light 
than  as  a  terrible  burst  of  energy. 

At  four  o'clock  Brunswick  ventured  upon  a  new  attack.  The 
firmness  of  our  troops  again  disconcerted  him,  and  again  he 
withdrew  his  columns.  Marching  from  one  surprise  to  another, 
and  finding  all  that  he  had  been  told  false,  the  Prussian  general 
advanced  with  extreme  circumspection,  and  though  fault  has 
been  found  with  him  for  not  pushing  the  attack  more  briskly 
and  overthrowing  Kellermann,  good  judges  are  of  opinion  that 
he  was  in  the  right.  Kellermann,  supported  on  the  right 
and  left  by  the  whole  French  army,  was  enabled  to  resist; 
and  if  Brunswick,  jammed  in  a  gorge  and  in  an  execrable 
country,  had  chanced  to  be  beaten,  he  might  have  been  utterly 
destroyed.  Besides,  he  had  by  the  result  of  that  day  occupied 
the  road  to  Chalons.  The  French  were  cut  off  from  their  depot. 
and  he  hoped  to  oblige  them  to  quit  their  position  in  a  few 
days.  He  did  not  consider  that,  masters  of  Vitry,  they  were 
merely  subjected  by  this  circumstance  to  the  inconvenience 
of  a  longer  circuit,  and  to  some  delay  in  the  arrival  of  their 
convoys. 

Such  was  the  celebrated  battle  of  the  20th  of  September  1792, 
in  which  more  than  twenty  thousand  cannon-shot  were  fired, 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  63 

whence  it  has  been  since  called  the  "  Cannonade  of  Valmy."* 
The  loss  was  equal  on  both  sides,  and  amounted  to  eight  or 
nine  hundred  men  for  each.  But  gaiety  and  assurance  reigned 
in  the  French  camp,  reproach  and  regret  in  that  of  the  Prussians. 
It  is  asserted  that  on  the  very  same  evening  the  King  of  Prussia 
addressed  the  severest  remonstrances  to  the  emigrants,  and 
that  a  great  diminution  was  perceived  in  the  influence  of 
Calonne,  the  most  presumptuous  of  the  emigrant  ministers, 
and  the  most  fertile  in  exaggerated  promises  and  false  infor- 
mation. 

That  same  night  Kellermann  recrossed  the  Auve  with  little 
noise,  and  encamped  on  the  heights  of  Gisaucourt,  which  he 
should  have  occupied  at  first,  and  by  which  the  Prussians  had 
profited  in  the  conflict.  The  Prussians  remained  on  the 
heights  of  La  Lune.  At  the  opposite  extremity  was  Dumou- 
riez,  and  on  his  left,  Kellermann,  upon  the  heights  of  which  he 
had  just  taken  possession.  In  this  singular  position  the  French, 
with  their  faces  towards  France,  seemed  to  be  invading  it,  and 
the  Prussians,  with  their  backs  to  it.  appeared  to  be  defending 
the  country.  Here  commenced,  on  the  part  of  Dumouriez, 
a  new  line  of  conduct,  full  of  energy  and  firmness,  as  well 
against  the  enemy  as  against  his  own  officers  and  against  the 
French  authority.  With  nearly  seventy  thousand  men,  in  a 
good  camp,  in  no  want,  or  at  least  but  rarely  in  want  of 
provisions,  he  could  afford  to  wait.  The  Prussians,  on  the 
contrary,  ran  short.  Disease  began  to  thin  their  arm)',  and 
in  this  situation  they  would  lose  a  great  deal  by  temporizing. 
A  most  inclement  season,  amidst  a  wet  country  and  on  a  clayey 
soil,  did 'not  allow  them  to  make  any  long  stay.  If  resum- 
ing too  late  the  energy  and  celebrity  of  the  invasion,  they 
attempted  to  march  for  Paris,  Dumouriez  was  in  force  to 
pursue  and  to  surround  them  when  they  should  have  pene- 
trated further. 

These  views    were    replete   with  justice    and   sagacity  ;  but 

*  "It  is  with  an  invading  army  as  with  an  insurrection.  An  indecisive  action 
is  equivalent  to  a  defeat.  The  affair  of  Valmy  was  merely  a  cannonade;  the 
total  loss  on  both  sides  did  not  exceed  eight  hundred  men  ;  the  bulk  of  the 
forces  on  neither  were  drawn  out;  yet  it  produced  upon  the  invaders  conse- 
quences equivalent  to  the  most  terrible  overthrow.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick  no 
longer  ventured  to  despise  an  enemy  who  had  shown  so  much  steadiness  under  a 
severe  fire  of  artillery  ;  the  elevation  of  victory,  and  the  self-confidence  which 
ensures  it,  hail  passed  over  to  the  other  side,  (lifted  with  an  uncommon  degree 
of  intelligence,  and  influenced  by  an  ardent  imagination,  the  French  soldiers  are 
easily  depressed  by  defeat,  but  proportionally  raised  by  success  :  the)-  rapidly 
make  the  transition  from  one  state  of  feeling  to  the  other.  From  the  cannonade 
of  Valmy  may  be  dated  the  commencement  of  that  career  of  victory  which  carried 
their  armies  to  Vienna  and  the  Kremlin."  -Alison, 


64  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

in  the  camp,  where  the  officers  were  tired  of  enduring 
privations,  and  where  Kellermann  was  dissatisfied  at  being 
subjected  to  a  superior  authority ;  at  Paris,  where  people 
found  themselves  separated  from  the  principal  army,  where 
they  could  perceive  nothing  between  them  and  the  Prussians, 
and  within  fifteen  leagues  of  which  Hulans  were  seen  advanc- 
ing, since  the  forest  of  Argonne  had  been  opened,  they  could 
not  approve  of  the  plan  of  Dumouriez.  The  Assembly,  the 
council,  complained  of  his  obstinacy,  and  wrote  him  the  most 
imperative  letters  to  make  him  abandon  his  position  and  recross 
the  Marne.  The  camp  of  Montmartre,  and  an  army  between 
Chalons  and  Paris,  were  the  double  rampart  recjuired  by  their 
terrified  imaginations.  "  The  Hulans  annoy  you,"  wrote 
Dumouriez ;  "  well  then,  kill  them.  That  does  not  concern 
me.  I  shall  not  change  my  plan  for  the  sake  of  nous  ardoilles." 
Entreaties  and  orders  nevertheless  continued  to  pour  in  upon 
him.  In  the  camp  the  officers  did  not  cease  to  make  observa- 
tions. The  soldiers  alone,  cheered  by  the  high  spirits  of  the 
general,  who  took  care  to  visit  their  ranks,  to  encourage  them, 
and  to  explain  to  them  the  critical  position  of  the  Prussians, 
patiently  endured  the  rain  and  privations.  Kellermann  at  one 
time  insisted  on  departing,  and  Dumouriez,  like  Columbus, 
soliciting  a  few  days  more  for  his  ecjuipment,  was  obliged  to 
promise  to  decamp  if  in  a  certain  number  of  days  the  Prussians 
did  not  beat  a  retreat. 

The  fine  army  of  the  allies  was,  in  fact,  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition. It  was  perishing  from  want,  and  still  more  .from  the 
destructive  effect  of  dysentery.  To  these  afflictions  the  plans 
of  Dumouriez  had  powerfully  contributed.  The  firing  in  front 
of  the  camp  being  deemed  useless,  because  it  tended  to  no 
result,  it  was  agreed  between  the  two  armies  that  it  should 
cease  ;  but  Dumouriez  stipulated  that  it  should  be  suspended 
on  the  front  only.  He  immediately  detached  all  his  cavalry, 
especially  that  of  the  new  levy,  to  scour  the  adjacent  country 
in  order  to  intercept  the  convoys  of  the  enemy,  who,  having 
come  by  the  pass  of  Grand-Prey  and  proceeded  along  the 
Aisne  to  follow  our  retreat,  was  obliged  to  make  his  supplies 
pursue  the  same  circuitous  route.  Our  horse  took  a  liking  to 
this  lucrative  warfare,  and  prosecuted  it  with  great  success. 

The  last  days  of  September  had  now  arrived.  The  disease 
in  the  Prussian  army  became  intolerable,  and  officers  were 
sent  to  the   French  camp  to  parley.*     They  confined  them- 

*  "  The  proposals  of  the  King  of  Prussia  do  not  appear  to  offer  a  basis  for 
a  negotiation,  but  they  demonstrate  that  the  enemy's  distress  is  very  great, 
a  fact  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  wretchedness  of  their  bread,  the  multitude 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  '        65 

selves  at  first  to  a  proposal  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners. 
The  Prussians  had  demanded  the  benefit  of  this  exchange  for 
the  emigrants  also,  but  this  had  been  refused.  Great  polite- 
ness had  been  observed  on  both  sides.  From  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  the  conversation  turned  to  the  motives  of  the  war, 
and  on  the  part  of  the  Prussians  it  was  almost  admitted  that 
the  war  was  impolitic.  On  this  occasion  the  character  of 
Dumouriez  was  strikingly  displayed.  Having  no  longer  to 
fight,  he  drew  up  memorials  for  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
demonstrated  how  disadvantageous  it  was  to  him  to  ally  him- 
self with  the  house  of  Austria  against  France.  At  the  same 
time  he  sent  him  a  dozen  pounds  of  coffee,  being  all  that  was 
left  in  both  camps.  His  memorials,  which  could  not  fail  to  be 
appreciated,  nevertheless  met,  as  might  naturally  be  expected, 
with  a  most  unfavourable  reception.  Brunswick  replied,  in 
the  name  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  by  a  declaration  as  arrogant 
as  the  first  manifesto,  and  all  negotiation  was  broken  off.  The 
Assembly,  consulted  by  Dumouriez.  answered,  like  the  Roman 
Senate,  that  they  would  not  treat  with  the  enemy  till  he  had 
quitted  France. 

These  negotiations  had  no  other  effect  than  to  bring 
calumny  upon  the  general,  who  was  thenceforth  suspected  of 
keeping  up  a  secret  correspondence  with  foreigners,  and  with 
a  haughty  monarch  humbled  by  the  result  of  the  war.  Put 
such  was  not  Dumouriez.  With  abundant  courage  and  intel- 
ligence, he  lacked  that  reserve,  that  dignity,  which  overawes 
men.  while  genius  merely  conciliates  them.  However,  as  the 
French  general  had  foreseen,  by  the  15th  of  October  the 
Prussian  army,  unable  to  struggle  longer  against  want  and 
disease,  began  to  decamp.  To  Europe  it  was  a  subject  of 
profound  astonishment,  of  conjectures,  of  fables,  to  see  so 
mighty,  so  vaunted  an  army,  retreating  before  those  raw 
artisans  and  tradesmen  who  were  to  have  been  led  back  with 
drums  beating  to  their  towns,  and  punished  for  having  quitted 
them.  The  sluggishness  with  which  the  Prussians  were  pur- 
sued, and  the  kind  of  impunity  which  they  enjoyed  in  repass- 
ing the  defiles  of  the  Argonne,  led  to  the  supposition  of  secret 

of  their  sick,  and  the  languor  of  their  attacks.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  King 
of  Prussia  is  now  heartily  sorry  at  being  so  far  in  advance,  and  would  readily 
adopt  any  means  to  extricate  himself  from  his  embarrassment.  He  keeps  so  near 
me,  from  a  wish  to  engage  us  in  a  combat  as  the  only  means  he  has  of  escaping  ; 
for  if  I  keep  within  my  entrenchments  eight  days  longer,  his  army  will  dissolve 
of  itself  from  want  of  provisions.  I  will  undertake  no  serious  negotiation  with- 
out your  authority,  ami  without  receiving  from  you  the  basis  on  which  it  is  to  be 
conducted.  All  that  I  have  hitherto  done  is  to  gain  time,  and  commit  no  one." 
—  Dwmourit  .  .   Dt sjpatch  t<>  th<  French  Government. 

voi,.  [i.  33 


66  HIS TOE Y  OF  sept.  1792 

stipulations,  and  even  of  a  bargain  with  the  King  of  Prussia. 
The  military  facts  will  account  for  the  retreat  of  the  allies 
better  than  all  these  suppositions. 

It  was  no  longer  possible  for  them  to  remain  in  so  unfor- 
tunate a  position.  To  continue  the  invasion  in  a  season  so  far 
advanced  and  so  inclement  would  be  most  injudicious.  The 
only  resource  of  the  allies  then  was  to  retreat  towards  Luxem- 
bourg and  Lorraine,  and  there  to  make  themselves  a  strong 
base  of  operations  for  recommencing  the  campaign  in  the 
following  year.  There  is,  moreover,  reason  to  believe  that  at 
this  moment  Frederick  William  was  thinking  of  taking  his 
share  of  Poland ;  for  it  was  then  that  this  Prince,  after  ex- 
citing the  Poles  against  Kussia  and  Austria,  prepared  to  share 
the  spoil.  Thus  the  state  of  the  season  and  of  the  country, 
disgust  arising  from  a  foiled  enterprise,  regret  at  having  allied 
himself  with  the  house  of  Austria  against  France,  and  lastly, 
new  interests  in  the  North,  were,  with  the  King  of  Prussia, 
motives  sufficient  to  determine  his  retreat.  It  was  conducted 
in  the  best  order,  for  the  enemy  who  thus  consented  to  depart 
was  nevertheless  very  strong.*  To  attempt  absolutely  to  cut 
off  his  retreat,  and  to  oblige  him  to  open  himself  a  passage  by 
a  victory,  would  have  been  an  imprudence  which  Dumouriez 
would  not  commit.  He  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with 
harassing  him  ;  but  this  he  did  with  too  little  activity,  through 
his  own  fault  and  that  of  Kellermann. 

The  danger  was  past,  the  campaign  was  over,  and  each 
reverted  to  himself  and  his  projects.  Dumouriez*  thought 
of  his  enterprise  against  the  Netherlands,  Kellermann  of  his 
command  at  Metz,  and  the  two  generals  did  not  pay  to  the 
pursuit  of  the  Prussians  that  attention  which  it  deserved. 
Dumouriez    sent   General    d'Harville    to    the   Ohene-Populeux 

*  "  The  force  with  which  the  Prussians  retired  was  about  70,000  men,  and 
their  retreat  was  conducted  throughout  in  the  most  imposing  manner,  taking 
position,  and  facing  about  on  occasion  of  every  halt.  Verdun  and  Longwy 
were  successively  abandoned.  On  getting  possession  of  the  ceded  fortresses,  the 
commissaries  of  the  Convention  took  a  bloody  revenge  on  the  royalist  party. 
Several  young  women  who  had  presented  garlands  of  flowers  to  the  King  of 
Prussia  during  the  advance  of  his  army  were  sent  to  the  revolutionary  tribunal, 
and  condemned  to  death.  The  Prussians  left  behind  them  on  their  route  most 
melancholy  proofs  of  the  disasters  of  the  campaign.  All  the  villages  were  filled 
with  the  dead  and  dying.  Without  any  considerable  fighting,  the  allies  had 
lost  by  dysentery  and  fevers  more  than  a  fourth  of  their  numbers." — Alison. 

"The  Prussians  had  engaged  in  this  campaign  as  if  it  had  been  a  review,  in 
which  light  it  had  been  represented  to  them  by  the  emigrants.  They  were 
unprovided  with  stores  or  provisions ;  instead  of  an  unprotected  country,  they 
found  daily  a  more  vigorous  resistance ;  the  continual  rains  had  laid  open  the 
roads  ;  the  soldiers  marched  in  mud  up  to  their  knees  ;  and  for  four  dajrs  together 
they  had  no  other  nourishment  than  boiled  corn." — Mignet. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  67 

to  chastise  the  emigrants  ;  ordered  General  Miaczinski  to  wait 
for  them  at  Stenay  as  they  issued  from  the  pass,  to  complete 
their  destruction  ;  sent  Chasot  in  the  same  direction  to  occupy 
the  Longwy  road  ;  placed  Generals  Beurnonville,  Stengel,  and 
Valence,  with  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  men,  on  the 
rear  of  the  grand  army,  to  pursue  it  with  vigour  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  directed  Dillon,  who  had  continued  to  maintain 
his  ground  most  successfully  at  the  Islettes,  to  advance  by 
Clermont  and  Yarennes,  in  order  to  cut  off  the  road  to 
Verdun. 

These  plans  were  certainly  excellent,  but  they  ought  to 
have  been  executed  by  the  general  himself.  He  ought,  in  the 
opinion  of  a  very  sound  and  competent  judge,  M.  Jomini,  to 
have  dashed  straight  forward  to  the  Rhine,  and  then  to  have 
descended  it  with  his  whole  army.  In  that  moment  of  success, 
overthrowing  everything  before  him.  he  would  have  concpiered 
Belgium  in  a  single  march.  But  he  was  thinking  of  return- 
ing to  Paris  to  prepare  for  an  invasion  by  way  of  Lille.  The 
three  generals  Beurnonville.  Stengel,  and  Valence,  on  their 
part,  did  not  agree  very  cordially  together,  and  pursued  the 
Prussians  but  faintly.  Valence,  who  was  under  the  command 
of  Kellermann.  all  at  once  received  orders  to  return,  to  rejoin 
his  general  at  Chalons,  and  then  to  take  the  road  to  Metz. 
This  movement,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  a  strange  con- 
cept ion.  since  it  brought  Kellermann  back  into  the  interior, 
to  make  him  thence  resume  the  route  to  the  Lorraine  frontier. 
The  natural  route  would  have  been  forward  by  Vitry  or 
Clermont,  and  it  would  have  accorded  with  the  pursuit  of 
the  Prussians,  as  ordered  by  Dumouriez.  No  sooner  was  the 
latter  apprized  of  the  order  given  to  Valence  than  he  enjoined 
him  to  continue  his  march,  saying  that,  so  long  as  the  armies 
of  the  North  and  centre  were  mated,  the  supreme  command 
belonged  to  himself  alone.  He  remonstrated  very  warmly 
with  Kellermann,  who  relinquished  his  first  determination,  and 
consented  to  take  his  route  by  St.  Menehould  and  Clermont. 
The  pursuit,  however,  was  continued  with  as  little  spirit  as 
before.  Dillon  alone  harassed  the  Prussians  with  impetuous 
ardour,  and  by  pursuing  them  too  vigorously  he  had  very 
nearly  brought  on  an  engagement. 

The  dissension  of  the  generals,  and  the  particular  views 
which  occupied  their  minds  after  the  danger  had  passed,  were 
evidently  the  only  cause  that  procured  the  Prussians  so  easy 
a  retreat.  It  has  been  alleged  that  their  departure  was  pur- 
chased; that  it  was  paid  for  by  the  produce  of  a  great  rob- 
bery, of  which  we  shall    presently  give  an  account  ;   that  it   was 


6  8  THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.      sept.  1792 

concerted  with  Dumouriez  ;  and  that  one  of  the  stipulations  of 
tile  bargain  was  the  free  retreat  of  the  Prussians  ;  and  lastly, 
that  Louis  XVI.  had  from  the  recesses  of  his  prison  insisted 
upon  it.  We  have  seen  what  very  sufficient  reasons  must 
have  occasioned  this  retreat ;  but  besides  these,  there  are  other 
reasons.  It  is  not  credible  that  a  monarch  whose  vices  were 
not  those  of  a  base  cupidity  would  submit  to  be  bought.  We 
cannot  see  why,  in  case  of  a  convention,  Dumouriez  should 
not  have  justified  himself  in  the  eyes  of  military  men,  for  not 
having  pursued  the  enemy,  by  avowing  a  convention  in  which 
there  was  nothing  disgraceful  to  himself  ;  lastly,  Clery,  the 
King's  valet-de-chambre,  asserts  that  nothing  like  the  letter 
said  to  have  been  addressed  by  Louis  XVI.  to  Frederick 
William,  and  transmitted  by  Manuel,  the  procureur  of  the 
commune,  was  ever  written  and  delivered  to  the  latter.*  All 
this,  then,  is  a  falsehood  ;  and  the  retreat  of  the  allies  was  but 
a  natural  effect  of  the  war.  Dumouriez,  notwithstanding  his 
faults,  notwithstanding  his  distractions  at  Grand-Prey,  not- 
withstanding his  negligence  at  the  moment  of  the  retreat, 
was  still  the  saviour  of  France,  and  of  a  Revolution  which  has 
perhaps  advanced  Europe  several  centuries.  It  was  he  who, 
assuming  the  command  of  a  disorganized,  distrustful,  irritated 
army,  infusing  into  it  harmony  and  confidence,  establishing 
unity  and  vigour  along  that  whole  frontier,  never  despairing 
amidst  the  most  disastrous  circumstances,  holding  forth,  after 
the  loss  of  the  defiles,  an  example  of  unparalleled  presence 
of  mind,  persisting  in  his  first  ideas  of  temporizing,  in  spite 
of  the  danger,  in  spite  of  his  army,  and  in  spite  of  his  govern- 
ment, in  a  manner  which  demonstrates  the  vigour  of  his  judg- 
ment and  of  his  character — it  was  he,  we  say,  who  saved  our 
country  from  foreign  foes  and  from  counter-revolutionary 
resentment,  and  set  the  magnificent  example  of  a  man  saving 
his  fellow-citizens  in  spite  of  themselves.  Conquest,  however 
vast,  is  neither  more  glorious  nor  more  moral. 

*  "  It  has  been  reported  that  Manuel  came  to  the  Temple  in  the  month  of 
September,  in  order  to  prevail  upon  his  Majesty  to  write  to  the  King  of  Prussia 
at  the  time  he  marched  his  army  into  Champagne.  I  can  testify  that  Manuel 
came  but  twice  to  the  Temple  while  I  was  there,  first  on  the  3rd  of  September, 
then  on  the  7th  of  October  ;  that  each  time  he  was  accompanied  by  a  great 
number  of  municipal  officers;  and  that  he  never  had  any  private  conversation 
with  the  King." — Clery. 


THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

ASSEMBLING  AND  OPENING  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION- 
INVASION  OF  BELGIUM. 

WHILE  the  French  armies  were  stopping  the  march  of  the 
allies,  Paris  was  still  the  theatre  of  disturbance  and  con- 
fusion. We  have  already  witnessed  the  excesses  of  the  com- 
mune, the  prolonged  atrocities  of  September,  the  impotence  of 
the  authorities,  and  the  inactivity  of  the  public  force,  during 
those  disastrous  days.  We  have  seen  with  what  audacity  the 
committee  of  surveillance  had  avowed  the  massacres,  and  re- 
commended the  imitation  of  them  to  all  the  other  communes 
in  France.  The  commissioners  sent  by  the  commune  had,  how- 
ever, been  everywhere  repelled,  because  France  did  not  par- 
ticipate in  that  fury  which  danger  had  excited  in  the  capital. 
But  in  the  environs  of  Paris  all  the  murders  were  not  confined 
to  those  of  which  we  have  already  given  an  account.  There 
had  been  formed  in  that  city  a  band  of  assassins  whom  the 
massacres  of  September  had  familiarized  with  blood,  and  who 
were  bent  on  spilling  more.  Some  hundreds  of  men  had 
already  set  out  with  the  intention  of  taking  out  of  the  prisons 
of  Orleans  the  persons  accused  of  high  treason.  A  recent 
decree  had  directed  that  those  unfortunate  prisoners  should 
be  conveyed  to  Saumur.  Their  destination  was,  however, 
changed  by  the  way,  and  they  were  brought  towards  Paris. 

On  the  9th  of  September  intelligence  was  received  that 
they  were  to  arrive  on  the  ioth  at  Versailles.  Whether  fresh 
orders  had  been  given  to  the  band  of  murderers,  or  the  tidings 
of  this  arrival  were  sufficient  to  excite  their  sanguinary  ardour, 
they  immediately  repaired  to  Versailles  on  the  night  between 
the  9th  and  ioth.  A  rumour  was  instantly  circulated  that 
fresh  massacres  were  about  to  be  committed.  The  mayor  of 
Versailles  took  every  precaution  to  prevenl  new  atrocities. 
The  presidenl  of  the  criminal  tribunal  hastened  to  Paris,  to 
inform   Danton,  the   minister,  of  the  danger  which  threatened 

the  prisoners;    but  to  all  his  representations  he  obtained  no 

69 


7  o  HISTOR  Y  OF  sept.  1792 

other  answer  than  "Those  men  are  very  guilty."  "  Granted," 
rejoined  Alquier,  the  president;  "but  the  law  alone  ought  to 
punish  them."  "Do  you  not  see,"  resumed  Danton,  "that  I 
would  already  have  answered  you  in  another  manner  if  I 
could  ?  Why  do  you  concern  yourself  about  these  prisoners  ? 
Return  to  your  functions,  and  trouble  your  head  no  more  with 
them." 

On  the  following  day  the  prisoners  arrived  at  Versailles.  A 
crowd  of  strange  men  rushed  upon  the  carriages,  surrounded 
and  separated  them  from  the  escort,  knocked.  Fournier,  the 
commandant,  from  his  horse,  carried  off  the  mayor,  who  had 
nobly  determined  to  die  at  his  post,  and  slaughtered  the  un- 
fortunate prisoners  to  the  number  of  fifty- two.  There  perished 
Delessart  and  d'Abancour,  placed  under  accusation  as  ministers, 
and  Brissac,  as  commander  of  the  constitutional  guard  dis- 
banded in  the  time  of  the  Legislative  Assembly.  Immediately 
after  this  execution  the  murderers  ran  to  the  prison  of  the 
town,  and  renewed  the  scenes  of  the  first  days  of  September, 
employing  the  same  means,  and  copying,  as  in  Paris,  the 
judicial  forms.*  This  event,  happening  within  five  days  of  the 
first,  increased  the  general  consternation  which  already  pre- 
vailed. In  Paris  the  committee  of  surveillance  did  not  abate 
its  activity.  As  the  prisons  had  been  just  cleared  by  death, 
it  began  to  fill  them  again  by  issuing  fresh  orders  of  arrest. 
These  orders  were  so  numerous  that  Roland,  minister  of  the 
interior,  in  denouncing  to  the  Assembly  these  new  arbitrary 
acts,  had  from  five  to  six  hundred  of  them  to  lay  on  tire  bureau, 
some  signed  by  a  single  individual,  others  by  two  or  three  at 
most,  the  greater  part  of  them  without  any  alleged  motives, 
and  many  founded  on  the  bare  suspicion  of  incivism. 

While  the  commune    was   exercising  its  power  in  Paris  it 

*  "As  soon  as  the  prisoners  reached  the  Grand  Square  at  Versailles,  ten  or 
twelve  men  laid  hold  of  the  reins  of  the  horses  in  the  first  waggon,  crying  out, 
'  Olf  with  their  heads  ! '  There  were  a  few  curious  spectators  in  the  streets,  but 
the  whole  escort  was  under  arms.  Fifteen  assassins  surrounded  and  attacked  the 
first  waggon,  renewing  the  cries  of  death.  The  public  functionary,  who  had 
taken  this  waggon  under  his  care,  was  the  mayor  of  Versailles.  He  attempted, 
but  in  vain,  to  harangue  the  murderers ;  in  vain  did  he  get  up  into  the  waggon, 
and  use  some  efforts  to  guard  and  cover  with  his  own  person  the  two  first  of  the 
prisoners  who  were  killed.  The  assassins,  masters  of  the  field  of  slaughter,  killed 
one  after  another,  with  their  swords  and  hangers,  forty-seven  out  of  fifty-three  of 
the  prisoners.  This  massacre  lasted  for  at  least  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  The 
dead  bodies  experienced  the  same  indignities  as  those  of  the  persons  who  had 
been  massacred  at  the  Abbey  prison  and  in  the  Tuileries.  Their  heads  and 
limbs  were  cut  off,  and  fixed  upon  the  iron  rails  round  the  palace  of  Versailles. 
When  the  assassins  thought  they  had  despatched  all  those  who  were  accused  of 
treason  against  the  State,  they  betook  themselves  to  the  prison  at  Versailles, 
where  they  killed  about  twelve  persons." — Peltier. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  71 

despatched  commissioners  to  the  departments,  for  the  purpose 
of  justifying  its  conduct,  advising  the  imitation  of  its  example, 
recommending  to  the  electors  deputies  of  its  own  choice,  and  de- 
crying those  who  were  averse  from  it  in  the  Legislative  Assembly. 
It  afterwards  secured  immense  funds  for  itself  by  seizing  the 
money  found  in  the  possession  of  Septeuil,  the  treasurer  of  the 
civil  list,  the  plate  of  the  churches,  and  the  rich  movables 
of  the  emigrants,  and  lastly,  by  drawing  considerable  sums 
from  the  exchecpier,  under  the  pretext  of  keeping  up  the  fund 
of  aids  (caisse  de  secours)  and  completing  the  works  of  the 
camp.  All  the  effects  of  the  unfortunate  persons  murdered  in 
the  prisons  of  Paris  and  on  the  road  to  Versailles  had  been 
secpiestrated  and  deposited  in  the  extensive  halls  of  the  com- 
mittee of  surveillance.  Never  would  the  commune  furnish  any 
statement  either  of  those  articles  or  their  value,  and  it  even 
refused  to  give  any  answer  concerning  them,  either  to  the 
minister  of  the  interior,  or  to  the  directory  of  the  department, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  converted  into  a  mere  com- 
mission of  contributions.  It  went  still  further,  and  began  to 
sell  on  its  own  authority  the  furniture  of  the  great  mansions, 
to  which  seals  had  been  affixed  ever  since  the  departure  of 
the  owners.  To  no  purpose  did  the  superior  administration 
issue  prohibitions.  The  whole  class  of  the  subordinate  func- 
tionaries charged  with  the  execution  of  its  orders  either  be- 
longed to  the  municipality,  or  was  too  weak  to  act.  The  orders, 
therefore,  were  not  carried  into  execution. 

The  national  guard,  composed  anew  under  the  denomination 
of  armed  sections,  and  full  of  all  sorts  of  men,  was  in  a  state  of 
complete  disorganization.  Sometimes  it  lent  a  hand  to  mis- 
chief, and  at  others  suffered  it  to  be  committed  by  neglect. 
Posts  were  totally  abandoned,  because  the  men  on  duty,  not 
being  relieved  even  at  the  expiration  of  forty-eight  hours, 
retired  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  disgust.  All  the  peace- 
able citizens  had  withdrawn  from  that  body,  once  so  regular 
and  so  useful ;  and  Santerre,  its  commander,  possessed  neither 
energy  nor  intelligence  sufficient  to  reorganize  it. 

The  safety  of  Paris  was  thus  abandoned  to  chance,  and  the 
commune  on  one  hand,  and  the  populace  on  the  other,  had  full 
scope  to  do  what  they  pleased.  Among  the  spoils  of  royalty, 
the  most  valuable,  and  consequently  the  most  coveted,  were 
those  kept  at  the  Garde  M en ble,  the  rich  depot  of  all  the  effects 
which  formerly  contributed  to  the  splendour  of  1  he  1  h  rone.  Kver 
since  the  IOtli  of  August  it  had  excited  the  cupidity  of  the 
multitude,  and  more  than  one  circumstance  had  sharpened  the 
vigilance  of  the  inspector  of  the  establishment.     He  had  sent 


72  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

requisition  after  requisition  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
sufficient  guard  ;  but  whether  from  disorder,  or  from  the 
difficulty  of  supplying  all  the  posts,  or  lastly,  from  wilful 
negligence,  he  had  not  been  furnished  with  the  force  that  he 
demanded. 

One  night  the  Garde  Meuble  was  robbed,  and  the  greater 
part  of  its  contents  passed  into  unknown  hands,  which  the 
authorities  afterwards  made  useless  efforts  to  discover.  This 
new  event  was  attributed  to  the  persons  who  had  secretly 
directed  the  massacres.  In  this  case,  however,  they  could  not 
have  been  impelled  either  by  fanaticism  or  by  a  sanguinary 
policy ;  and  the  ordinary  motive  of  theft  can  scarcely  be  as- 
cribed to  them,  since  they  had  in  the  stores  of  the  commune 
wherewithal  to  satisfy  the  highest  ambition.  It  has  been  said, 
indeed,  that  this  robbery  was  committed  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  for  the  retreat  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  which  is  absurd, 
and  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  party,  which  is  more  probable, 
but  by  no  means  proved.  At  any  rate  the  robbery  at  the 
Garde  Meuble  is  of  very  little  consequence  in  regard  to  the 
judgment  that  must  be  passed  upon  the  commune  and  its 
leaders.  It  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  commune,  as  the 
depository  of  property  of  immense  value,  never  rendered  any 
account  of  it  ;  that  the  seals  affixed  upon  the  closets  were 
broken  without  the  locks  being  forced,  which  indicates  a  secret 
abstraction  and  not  a  popular  pillage  ;  and  that  all  these 
valuables  disappeared  for  ever.  Part  was  impudently  stolen 
by  subalterns,  such  as  Sergent,  surnamed  Agate,  from  a  superb 
jewel  with  which  he  adorned  himself  ;  and  another  part  served 
to  defray  the  expense  of  the  extraordinary  government  which 
the  commune  had  instituted.  It  was  a  war  waged  against  the 
old  order  of  things,  and  every  such  war  is  sullied  with  murder 
and  pillage. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Paris  while  the  elections  for  the 
National  Convention  were  going  forward.  It  was  from  this 
new  Assembly  that  the  upright  citizens  expected  the  means 
and  energy  requisite  for  restoring  order.  They  hoped  that  the 
forty  days  of  confusion  and  crimes  which  had  elapsed  since  the 
ioth  of  August  would  be  but  an  accident  of  the  insurrection — 
a  deplorable  but  transitory  accident.  The  very  deputies,  sitting 
with  such  feebleness  in  the  National  Assembly,  deferred  the 
exercise  of  energy  till  the  meeting  of  that  Convention — the 
common  hope  of  all  paities. 

A  warm  interest  was  taken  in  the  elections  throughout 
France.  The  clubs  exercised  a  powerful  influence  over  them. 
The  Jacobins  of  Paris  had  printed  and  distributed  a  list  of  all 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  7  3 

the  votes  given  during  the  legislative  session,  that  it  might 
serve  as  a  guide  to  the  electors.  The  deputies  who  had  voted 
against  the  laws  desired  by  the  popular  party,  and  those  in 
particular  who  had  accpiitted  Lafayette,  were  especially  dis- 
tinguished. In  the  provinces,  however,  to  which  the  animosities 
of  the  capital  had  not  yet  penetrated,  Girondins.  and  even  such 
of  them  as  were  most  odious  to  the  agitators  •  of  Paris,  were 
chosen  on  account  of  the  talents  which  they  had  displayed. 
Almost  all  the  members  of  the  late  Assembly  were  re-elected. 
Many  of  the  constituents  whom  the  decree  of  non-re-election 
had  excluded  from  the  first  Legislature  were  called  to  form  part 
of  this  Convention.  In  the  number  were  distinguished  Buzot 
and  Petion.  Among  the  new  members  naturally  figured  men 
noted  in  their  departments  for  their  energy  or  their  violence, 
or  writers  who,  like  Louvet.  had  acquired  reputation  by  their 
talents  both  in  the  capital  and  in  the  provinces. 

In  Paris  the  violent  faction  which  had  domineered  ever 
since  the  10th  of  August  seized  the  control  over  the  elections, 
and  brought  forward  all  the  men  of  its  choice.  Robespierre 
and  Danton  were  the  first  elected.  The  Jacobins  and  the 
council  of  the  commune  hailed  this  intelligence  with  applause. 
After  them  were  elected  Camille  Desmoulins.  celebrated  for 
his  writings  ;  David  *  for  his  pictures  ;  Fabre-d'Eglantine  f  for 
his  comic  works  and  an  active  participation  in  the  revolutionary 
disturbances  ;  Legendre,  Panis,  Sergent,  and  Billaud-Varennes 
for  their  conduct  at  the  commune.  To  these  were  added 
Manuel,  the  procureur  syndic ;  the  younger  Robespierre,  brother 
of  the  celebrated  Maximilien  ;  Collot-d'Herbois..|  formerly  an 
actor  ;  and  the  Due  d'Orleans,  who  had  relinquished  his  titles 
and  called  himself  Philippe  Egalite.  Lastly,  after  all  these 
names  there  was  seen  with  astonishment  that  of  old  Dussaulx, 
one  of  the  electors  of  1789,  who  had  so  strongly  opposed  the 
fury  of  the  mob,  and  shed  so  many  tears  over  its  atrocities, 
and  who  was  re-elected  from  a  last  remembrance  of  '89.  and 
as  a  kind,  inoffensive  creature  to  all  parties. 

In  this  strange  list  there  was  only  wanting  the  cynical  and 
sanguinary  Marat.  This  singular  man  had,  from  the  boldness 
of  his  writings,  something  about  him  that  was  surprising  even 
to  those  who  had  just  witnessed  the  events  of  September. 
Chabot,  the  Capuchin,  who  by  his  energy  bore  sway  at  the 
-Jacobins,  and  there  sought  triumphs  which  were  refused  him 
in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  was  obliged  to  step  forth  as  the 
apologist    of   Mnrat  ;  and  as  everything  was   discussed  befoiv- 

*  See  Appendix  L.  +  Sec  Appendix  M. 

X  See  Appendix  N. 


74  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

hand  at  the  Jacobins,  his  election,  proposed  there,  was  soon 
consummated  in  the  electoral  assembly.  Marat,  Freron,* 
another  journalist,  and  a  few  more  obscure  individuals,  com- 
pleted that  famous  deputation,  which,  embracing  mercantile 
men,  a  butcher,  an  actor,  an  engraver,  a  painter,  a  lawyer, 
three  or  four  writers,  and  an  abdicated  prince,  correctly  re- 
presented the  confusion  and  the  various  classes  which  were 
struggling  in  the  immense  capital  of  France. 

The  deputies  arrived  successively  in  Paris,  and  in  proportion 
as  their  number  increased,  and  the  days  which  had  produced 
such  profound  terror  became  more  remote,  people  began  to 
muster  courage  and  to  exclaim  against  the  excesses  of  the 
capital.  The  fear  of  the  enemy  was  diminished  by  the  atti- 
tude of  Dumouriez  in  the  Argonne.  Hatred  of  the  aristocrats 
was  converted  into  pity  since  the  horrible  sacrifice  of  them  at 
Paris  and  Versailles.  These  atrocities,  which  had  found  so 
many  mistaken  approvers  or  so  many  timid  censurers — these 
atrocities,  rendered  still  more  hideous  by  the  robbery  which 
had  just  been  added  to  murder,  excited  general  reprobation. 
The  Girondins,  indignant  at  so  many  crimes,  and  exasperated 
by  the  personal  oppression  to  which  they  had  been  subjected 
for  a  whole  month,  became  more  firm  and  more  energetic. 
Resplendent  by  their  talents  and  courage  in  the  eyes  of  France, 
invoking  justice  and  humanity,  they  could  not  but  have  public 
opinion  in  their  favour,  and  they  already  began  loudly  to 
threaten  their  adversaries  with  its  influence. 

If,  however,  all  alike  condemned  the  outrages  perpetrated  in 
Paris,  they  did  not  all  feel  and  excite  those  personal  resent- 
ments which  embitter  party  animosities.  Possessing  intelli- 
gence and  talents,  Brissot  produced  considerable  effect,  but 
he  had  neither  sufficient  personal  consideration  nor  sufficient 
ability  to  be  the  leader  of  a  party,  and  the  hatred  of  Robe- 
spierre aggrandized  him  by  imputing  to  him  that  character. 
When  on  the  days  preceding  the  insurrection  the  Girondins 
wrote  a  letter  to  Bose,  the  King's  painter,  the  rumour  of  a 
treaty  was  circulated,  and  it  was  asserted  that  Brissot  was 
going  to  set  out  for  London  laden  with  money.  The  rumour 
was  unfounded ;  but  Marat,  with  whom  the  slightest  and  even 
the  falsest  reports  were  a  sufficient  ground  for  accusation,  had 
nevertheless  issued  an  order  for  the  apprehension  of  Brissot 
at  the  time  of  the  general  imprisonment  of  the  alleged  con- 
spirators of  the  ioth  of  August.  A  great  sensation  was  the 
consequence,  and  the  order  had  not  been  carried  into  effect. 

*  See  Appendix  0. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  75 

The  Jacobins  nevertheless  persisted  in  asserting  that  Biissot 
had  sold  himself  to  Brunswick.  Robespierre  repeated  and 
believed  this,  so  disposed  was  his  warped  judgment  to  believe 
those  guilty  who  were  hateful  to  him.  Louvet  had  equally 
excited  his  hatred  for  making  himself  second  to  Brissot  at  the 
Jacobins,  and  in  the  Journal  dc  la  Sentinellc,  Louvet,  possessing 
extraordinary  talent  and  boldness,  made  direct  attacks  upon 
individuals.  His  virulent  personalities,  renewed  every  day 
through  the  channel  of  a  journal,  made  him  the  most  dangerous 
and  the  most  detested  enemy  of  Robespierre's  party. 

Roland,  the  minister,  had  displeased  the  whole  Jacobin  and 
municipal  party  by  his  courageous  letter  of  the  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember, and  by  his  resistance  to  the  encroachments  of  the 
commune  ;  but  he  had  never  been  the  rival  of  any  individual, 
and  excited  no  other  anger  than  that  of  opinion.  He  had 
personally  offended  none  but  Danton,  by  opposing  him  in  the 
council,  and  there  was  but  little  danger  in  so  doing,  for,  of  all 
men  living,  Danton  was  the  one  whose  resentment  was  least  to 
be  dreaded.  But  in  the  pei'son  of  Roland  it  was  his  wife  who 
was  principally  detested — his  wife,  a  proud,  severe,  courageous, 
clever  woman,  rallying  around  her  those  highly  cultivated  and 
brilliant  Girondins,  animating  them  by  her  looks,  rewarding 
them  with  her  esteem,  and  keeping  up  in  her  circle,  along 
with  republican  simplicity,  a  politeness  hateful  to  vulgar  and 
obscure  men.  These  alreadv  strove  to  make  Roland  the  butt 
of  their  low  ridicule.  His  wife,  they  said,  governed  for  him, 
directed  his  friends,  and  even  recompensed  them  with  her 
favours.  Marat,  in  his  ignoble  language,  styled  her  the  Circe 
of  the  party.* 

Guadet,  Vergniaud,  and  Gensonne,  though  they  had  shed 
great  lustre  on  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  opposed  the 
•Jacobin  party,  had  nevertheless  not  vet  roused  all  the  animositv 
which  they  subsequently  excited.  Guadet  had  even  pleased 
tin-  energetic  republicans  by  his  bold  attacks  upon  Lafayette 
and  the  Court.  ( I  uadet,  ardent  and  ever  ready  to  dash  forward, 
could  display  at  one  moment  the  utmost  vehemence,  and  in  the 
next  the  greatest  coolness  ;  and.  master  of  himself  in  the 
tribune,  he  distinguished  himself  there  by  his  seasonable  and 

*  "To  a  very  beautiful  person  Madame  Roland  united  great  powers  of  intel- 
lect ;  her  reputation  stood  very  high,  and  her  friends  never  spoke  of  her  but  with 
the  most  profound  respect.  In  character  she  was  a  Cornelia  ;  and  had  she  been 
blessed  with  suns,  would  have  educated  them  like  the  Gracchi.  The  simplicity 
of  her  dress  did  not  detract  from  her  natural  grace  and  elegance  ;  and  while  her 
pursuits  were  7nore  adapted  to  the  other  sex,  she  adorned  them  with  all  the 
charms  of  her  own.  Her  personal  memoirs  are  admirable.  They  are  an  imita- 
tion of  Rousseau's  Confessions,  and  often  not  unworthy  of  the  original."—  Dv/mont. 


76  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

spirit-stirring  harangues.  Accordingly  he,  like  all  other  men, 
could  not  but  delight  in  an  exercise  in  which  he  excelled,  nay, 
even  abuse  it,  and  take  too  much  pleasure  in  launching  out 
against  a  party  which  was  soon  destined  to  stop  his  mouth  by 
death. 

Vergniaud  had  not  gained  so  much  favour  with  violent  spirits 
as  Guadet,  because  he  had  not  shown  such  hostility  to  the 
Court,  but  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  run  less  risk  of  offend- 
ing them,  because  in  his  ease  and  carelessness  he  had  not 
jostled  others  so  much  as  his  friend  Guadet.  So  little  was  this 
speaker  under  the  sway  of  the  passions  that  they  allowed  him 
to  take  his  nap  quietly  amidst  the  contentions  of  parties,  and 
as  they  did  not  urge  him  to  outstrip  others,  they  exposed  him 
but  little  to  their  hatred.  He  was,  however,  by  no  means  in- 
different. He  had  a  noble  heart,  a  sound  and  lucid  under- 
standing, and  the  sluggish  fire  of  his  being,  kindling  it  at 
times,  warmed  and  elevated  him  to  the  most  sublime  energy. 
He  had  not  the  same  briskness  of  repartee  as  Guadet,  but  he 
became  animated  in  the  tribune,  where  he  poured  forth  a 
torrent  of  eloquence  ;  and  owing  to  the  flexibility  of  an  extra- 
ordinary voice,  he  delivered  his  thoughts  with  a  facility  and  a 
fecundity  of  expression  unequalled  by  any  other  member.  The 
elocution  of  Mirabeau  was,  like  his  character,  coarse  and  un- 
equal ;  that  of  Vergniaud,  always  elegant  and  noble,  became 
with  circumstances  grand  and  energetic.  But  all  the  exhorta- 
tions of  Roland's  wife  were  not  always  capable  of  rousing  this 
champion,  frequently  disgusted  with  mankind,  frequently  op- 
posed to  the  imprudence  of  his  friends,  and  above  all,  by  no 
means  convinced  of  the  utility  of  words  against  force. 

Geusonne,  full  of  good  sense  and  integrity,  but  endowed 
with  a  moderate  facility  of  expression,  and  capable  only  of 
drawing  up  good  reports,  had  not  as  yet  distinguished  himself 
in  the  tribune.  Strong  passions,  however,  and  an  obstinate 
character,  could  not  but  gain  him  considerable  influence  among 
his  friends,  and  from  his  enemies  that  hatred  which  is  always 
excited  more  by  a  man's  character  than  by  his  talents. 

Condorcet,  once  a  marquis,  and  always  a  philosopher,  a  man 
of  elevated  mind,  an  unbiassed  judge  of  the  faults  of  his  party, 
unqualified  for  the  terrible  agitations  of  democracy,  and  who 
had  taken  no  pains  to  push  himself  forward,  had  as  yet  no 
direct  enemy  on  his  own  account,  and  reserved  himself  for  all 
those  kinds  of  labour  which  required  profound  meditation. 

Buzot,*    endued    with    good    sense,   elevation    of    soul,    and 

*  See  Appendix  P. 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  TJTION.  7  7 

courage,  combining  a  firm  and  simple  elocution  with  a  hand- 
some face,  awed  the  passions  by  the  nobleness  of  his  person, 
and  exercised  the  greatest  moral  ascendency  on  all  around 
him. 

Barbaroux,  elected  by  bis  fellow-citizens,  had  just  arrived 
from  the  South  with  one  of  his  friends,  like  himself,  a  deputy 
to  the  National  Convention.  The  name  of  this  friend  was 
Rebecqui.  With  a  mind  but  little  cultivated,  he  was  bold  and 
enterprising,  and  wholly  devoted  to  Barbaroux.  It  will  be 
recollected  that  the  latter  worshipped  Roland  and  IVtion.  that 
he  looked  upon  Marat  as  an  atrocious  maniac,  and  Robespierre 
as  an  ambitious  man,  especially  ever  since  Petion  had  proposed 
the  latter  to  him  as  an  indispensable  dictator.  Disgusted  with 
the  crimes  committed  during  his  absence,  he  was  ready  to 
impute  them  to  men  whom  he  already  detested,  and  he  spoke 
out  immediately  after  his  arrival  with  an  energy  which  rendered 
reconciliation  impossible.  Inferior  to  his  friends  in  the  qualities 
of  mind,  but  endued  with  intelligence  and  facility,  handsome, 
heroic,  he  vented  himself  in  threats,  and  in  a  few  days  drew 
upon  himself  as  much  hatred  as  those  who  during  the  whole 
existence  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  had  never  ceased  to 
wound  opinions  and  their  holders. 

The  person  around  whom  the  whole  party  rallied,  and  who 
then  enjoyed  universal  respect,  was  Petion.  Mayor  during  the 
Legislature,  he  had  by  his  struggle  with  the  Court  gained 
immense  popularity.  He  had.  it  is  true,  on  the  9th  of  August 
preferred  deliberation  to  combat  :  he  had  since  declared  against 
the  deeds  of  September,  and  had  separated  himself  from  the 
commune,  as  did  Bailly  in  1790;  but  this  quiet  and  silent 
opposition,  without  embroiling  him  still  more  with  the  faction. 
had  rendered  him  formidable  to  it.  Possessing  an  enlarged 
understanding  and  a  calm  mind,  speaking  but  seldom,  and 
never  pretending  to  rival  any  one  in  talent,  he  exercised  over 
all.  and  over  Robespierre  himself,  the  ascendency  of  a  cool. 
equitable,  and  universally  respected  reason.  Though  a  reputed 
Girondin,  all  the  parties  were  anxious  for  his  suffrage.  All 
feared  him,  and  in  the  new  Assembly  he  had  in  his  favour  not 
only  the  right  side,  hut  the  whole  central  mass,  and  even  man\ 
of  the  members  of  t  lie  left  side. 

Such  then  was  the  situation  of  the  Girondins  in  presence  of 
the  Parisian  faction.  They  possessed  the  public  opinion,  which 
condemned  the  late  excesses;  they  had  gained  a  great  part  of 
the  deputies  who  were  daily  arriving  in  Paris:  they  had  all 
the  ministers,  excepting  Danton,  who  frequently  governed  the 
council,  but  did  not   employ  his   power  againsl    them;  lastly. 


;8  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

they  could  boast  of  having  at  their  head  the  mayor  of  Paris, 
than  whom  none  was  at  the  moment  more  highly  respected. 
J) ut  in  Paris  they  were  not  at  home.  They  were  in  the  midst 
of  their  enemies,  and  they  had  to  apprehend  the  violence  of 
the  lower  classes,  which  were  agitated  beneath  them,  and  above 
all.  the  violence  of  the  future,  which  was  soon  to  increase  along 
with  the  revolutionary  passions. 

The  first  reproach  levelled  at  them  was  that  they  wanted  to 
sacrifice  Paris.  A  design  of  seeking  refuge  in  the  departments 
and  beyond  the  Loire  had  already  been  imputed  to  them. 
The  wrongs  done  them  by  Paris  having  been  aggravated  since 
the  2nd  and  3rd  of  September,  they  were  moreover  accused  of 
an  intention  to  forsake  it ;  and  it  was  alleged  that  they  wished 
to  assemble  the  Convention  in  some  other  place.  These  sus- 
picions, gradually  arranging  themselves,  assumed  a  more  regular 
form.  It  was  pretended  that  the  Girondins  were  desirous  to 
break  the  national  unity,  and  to  form  out  of  the  eighty-three 
departments  as  many  states,  all  equal  among  themselves,  and 
united  by  a  mere  federative  compact.  It  was  added  that  by 
this  measure  they  meant  to  destroy  the  supremacy  of  Paris, 
and  to  secure  for  themselves  a  personal  domination  in  their 
respective  departments.  Then  it  was  that  the  calumny  of 
federalism  was  devised.  It  is  true  that  when  France  was 
threatened  with  invasion  by  the  Prussians  they  had  thought 
of  entrenching  themselves,  in  case  of  necessity,  in  the  southern 
departments  ;  it  is  likewise  true  that  on  beholding  the  atrocities 
and  tyranny  of  Paris  they  had  sometimes  turned  their  eyes  to 
the  departments  ;  but  between  this  point  and  the  plan  of  a 
federative  system  there  was  a  very  great  distance.  And 
besides,  as  all  the  difference  between  a  federative  government 
and  a  single  and  central  government  consists  in  the  greater  or 
less  energy  of  the  local  institutions,  the  crime  of  such  an  idea 
was  extremely  vague,  if  it  had  any  existence. 

The  Girondins,  perceiving  nothing  culpable  in  this  idea,  did 
not  disavow  it ;  and  many  of  them,  indignant  at  the  absurd 
manner  in  which  this  system  was  condemned,  asked  if,  after 
all,  the  new  American  States,  Holland,  and  Switzerland,  were 
not  free  and  happy  under  a  federative  government,  and  if 
there  would  be  any  great  error,  any  mighty  crime,  in  prepar- 
ing a  similar  lot  for  France.  Buzot,  in  particular,  frequently 
maintained  this  doctrine  ;  and  Brissot,  a  warm  admirer  of  the 
Americans,  likewise  defended  it,  rather  as  a  philosophic  opinion 
than  as  a  project  applicable  to  France.  These  conversations, 
being  divulged,  gave  greater  weight  to  the  calumny  of  fede- 
ralism.    At  the  Jacobins  the  question  of  a  federal  system  was 


sept.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  79 

gravely  discussed,  and  a  thousand  furious  passions  were  kindled 
against  the  Girondins.  It  was  alleged  that  they  wished  to 
destroy  the  fasces  of  the  revolutionary  power,  to  take  from 
it  that  unity  which  constituted  its  strength ;  and  this  for 
the  purpose  of  making  themselves  kings  in  their  respective 
provinces. 

The  Girondins,  on  their  part,  replied  by  reproaches  in  which 
there  was  more  reality,  but  which  unfortunately  were  likewise 
exaggerated,  and  which  lost  in  force  in  proportion  as  they  lost 
in  truth.  They  reproached  the  commune  with  having  made 
itself  the  supreme  authority,  with  having  by  its  usurpations 
encroached  on  the  national  sovereignty,  and  with  having  arro- 
gated to  itself  alone  a  power  which  belonged  only  to  entire 
Prance.  They  reproached  it  with  a  design  to  rule  the  Conven- 
tion in  the  same  manner  as  it  had  oppressed  the  Legislative 
Assembly.  They  declared  that  it  would  be  unsafe  for  the 
national  representatives  to  sit  beside  it,  and  that  they  would 
be  sitting  amidst  the  murderers  of  September.  They  accused 
it  of  having  dishonoured  the  devolution  during  the  forty  days 
succeeding  the  10th  of  August,  and  with  having  selected  for 
deputies  of  Paris  none  but  men  who  had  signalized  themselves 
during  those  horrible  saturnalia. 

So  far  all  was  true.  But  they  added  reproaches  as  vague 
as  those  which  the  federalists  addressed  to  themselves.  ]\iarat, 
Danton,  and  Robespierre  were  loudly  accused  of  aspiring  to 
the  supreme  power:  Marat,  because  he  was  daily  urging  in 
his  writings  the  necessity  for  a  dictator,  who  should  lop  off 
from  society  the  impure  members  who  corrupted  it;  Robe- 
spierre, because  he  had  dogmatized  at  the  commune,  and  spoken 
with  insolence  to  the  Assembly,  and  because,  on  the  evening 
before  the  ioth  of  August.  Panis  had  proposed  him  to  Bar- 
baroux  as  dictator;  lastly,  Danton,  because  he  exercised  over 
the  ministry,  over  the  people,  and  wherever  he  appeared,  the 
influence  of  a  mighty  being.  They  were  called  the  triumvirs, 
and  yet  they  had  no  sort  of  connection  with  each  other.  Marat 
was  but  a  systematic  madman.  Robespierre  was  as  yet  but  a 
jealous,  for  he  had  not  the  greatness  of  mind  to  be  an  ambitious, 
man.  Danton.  finally,  was  an  active  man,  zealously  intent  on 
promoting  the  aim  of  the  Revolution,  and  who  meddled  with 
everything,  rather  from  ardour  than  from  personal  ambition. 
But  in  none  of  these  men  was  there  yet  either  a  usurper  or  a 
conspirator  in  understanding  with  the  others;  and  it  was  im- 
prudent to  give  to  adversaries  already  si  ronger  than  the  accusers 
the  advantage  of  being  accused  unjustly.  The  (lirondins,  how- 
ever,   showed   much    less    bitterness    against    Danton.    because 


80  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

there  had  never  been  anything  personal  between  themselves 
and  him ;  and  they  despised  Marat  too  much  to  attack  him 
directly ;  but  they  fell  foul  of  Robespierre  without  mercy, 
because  they  were  more  exasperated  by  the  success  of  what 
was  called  his  virtue  and  his  eloquence.  Against  him  they 
entertained  that  resentment  which  is  felt  hy  real  superiority 
against  proud  and  too  highly  extolled  mediocrity. 

An  attempt  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding  was 
nevertheless  made  before  the  opening  of  the  National  Con- 
vention, and  several  meetings  were  held,  in  which  it  was 
proposed  that  the  different  parties  should  frankly  explain 
themselves,  and  put  an  end  to  mischievous  disputes.  Danton 
entered  sincerely  into  this  arrangement,  because  he  carried 
with  him  no  pride,  and  desired  above  all  things  the  success 
of  the  Revolution ;  Petion  showed  great  coolness  and  sound 
reason ;  but  Robespierre  was  peevish  as  an  injured  man.  The 
Girondins  were  haughty  and  severe,  as  innocent  persons,  who 
feel  that  they  have  been  offended,  and  conceive  that  they  hold 
in  their  hands  the  sure  power  of  revenge.  Barbaroux  said  that 
any  alliance  bcttveen  crime  and  virtue  was  utterly  impossible  ; 
and  all  the  parties  were  much  further  from  a  reconciliation 
when  they  separated  than  before  they  met.  All  the  Jacobins 
rallied  round  Robespierre ;  the  Girondins,  and  the  prudent 
and  moderate  mass,  round  Petion.  It  was  recommended  by 
the  latter  and  by  all  sensible  persons  to  drop  all  accusation, 
since  it  was  impossible  to  discover  the  authors  of  the  massacres 
of  September  and  of  the  robbery  at  the  Garde  Meublfi ;  to  say 
no  more  about  the  triumvirs,  because  their  ambition  was  neither 
sufficiently  proved  nor  sufficiently  manifest  to  be  punished  ; 
to  despise  the  score  of  bad  characters  introduced  into  the 
Assembly  by  the  elections  of  Paris  ;  and  lastly,  to  lose  no  time 
in  fulfilling  the  object  of  the  Convention  by  forming  a  con- 
stitution and  deciding  the  fate  of  Louis  XVI. 

Such  were  the  sentiments  of  men  of  cool  minds  ;  but  others 
less  calm  devised,  as  usual,  plans  which,  as  they  could  not  yet 
be  put  in  execution,  were  attended  with  the  danger  of  warning 
and  irritating  their  adversaries.  They  proposed  to  cashier  the 
municipality,  to  remove  the  Convention  in  case  of  need,  to 
transfer  its  seat  from  Paris  to  some  other  place,  to  constitute 
it  a  court  of  justice  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  conspirators 
without  appeal,  and  lastly,  to  raise  a  particular  guard  for  it 
selected  from  the  eighty-three  departments.  These  plans  led 
to  no  result,  and  served  only  to  irritate  the  passions.  The 
Girondins  relied  upon  the  public  feeling,  which,  in  their 
opinion,  would  be  roused  by  the  strain  of  their  elocjuence  and 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  8 1 

by  the  recital  of  the  crimes  which  they  should  have  to  de- 
nounce. They  appointed  the  tribune  of  the  Convention  for 
their  place  of  rendezvous,  for  the  purpose  of  crushing  their 
adversaries. 

At  length,  on  the  20th  of  September,  the  deputies  to  the 
Convention  met  at  the  Tuileries,  in  order  to  constitute  the  new 
Assembly.  Their  number  being  sufficient,  they  constituted 
themselves  ad  interim,  verified  their  powers,  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  nomination  of  the  bureau.  Petion  was 
almost  unanimously  proclaimed  President ;  Brissot,  Condorcet, 
Rabaud  St.  Etienne.  Lasource,  Vergniaud,  and  Camus  were 
elected  secretaries.  These  appointments  prove  what  influence 
the  Girondin  party  then  possessed  in  the  Assembly. 

The  Legislative  Assembly,  which  had  sat  permanently  ever 
since  the  10th  of  August,  was  apprized  on  the  21st  by  a  depu- 
tation that  the  National  Convention  was  formed,  and  that  the 
Legislature  was  dissolved.  The  two  Assemblies  had  but  to 
blend  themselves  into  one,  and  the  Convention  took  possession 
of  the  hall  of  the  Legislative  Assembly. 

On  the  2 1st,  Manuel,  procureur  syndic  of  the  commune, 
suspended  after  the  20th  of  June,  with  Petion,  who  had  be- 
come highly  popular  in  consequence  of  this  suspension,  and 
who  had  then  enlisted  among  the  furious  spirits  of  the  com- 
mune, but  afterwards  withdrawn  from  them  and  joined  the 
( rirondins  at  the  sight  of  the  massacres  at  the  Abbaye — Manuel 
made  a  motion  which  excited  a  strong  sensation  among  the 
enemies  of  the  Gironde.  "Citizens,  representatives,"  said  he, 
••  in  this  place  everything  ought  to  be  stamped  with  a  character 
of  such  dignity  and  grandeur  as  to  fill  the  world  with  awe.  I 
propose  that  the  President  of  France  have  the  national  palace 
of  the  Tuileries  assigned  for  his  residence,  that  he  be  preceded 
by  the  public  force  and  the  insignia  of  the  law.  and  that  the 
citizens  rise  at  his  appearance."  At  these  words,  Chabot  the 
Jacobin,  and  Tallien,  secretary  of  the  commune,  inveighed  with 
vehemence  against  this  ceremonial,  borrowed  from  royalty. 
Chabot  said  that  the  representatives  of  the  people  ought  to 
assimilate  themselves  to  the  citizens  from  whose  ranks  they 
issued,  to  the  sans-culottcs,  who  formed  the  majority  of  the 
nation.  Tallien  added  that  they  ought  to  go  to  a  fifth  story  in 
quest  of  a  president,  for  it  was  there  that  genius  and  virtue 
dwelt.  Manuel's  motion  was  consequently  rejected,  and  the 
enemies  of  the  Gironde  alleged  that  that  party  wished  to 
decree  sovereign  honours  to  Petion,  its  chief. 

This  proposition  was  succeeded  by  a  great  number  of  others 
without   interruption.       In    all    quarters    there    was    a    desire 

vol.  11.  34 


82  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

to  ascertain  by  authentic  declarations  the  sentiments  which 
animated  the  Assembly  and  France.  It  was  required  that  the 
new  constitution  should  have  absolute  equality  for  its  founda- 
tion ;  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  should  be  decreed ; 
that  hatred  should  be  sworn  to  royalty,  to  a  dictatorship,  to  a 
triumvirate,  to  every  individual  authority;  and  that  the  penalty 
of  death  should  be  decreed  against  any  one  who  should  pro- 
pose such  a  form  of  government.  Danton  put  an  end  to  all 
the  motions  by  causing  a  decree  to  be  passed,  declaring  that 
the  new  constitution  should  not  be  valid  till  it  had  been 
sanctioned  by  the  people.  It  was  added  that  the  existing  laws 
should  continue  in  force  ad  interim,  that  the  authorities  not 
superseded  should  be  meanwhile  retained,  and  that  the  taxes 
should  be  raised  as  heretofore  till  new  systems  of  contribution 
were  introduced.  After  these  motions  and  decrees,  Manuel, 
Collot-d'Herbois,  and  Gregoire  brought  forward  the  question 
of  royalty,  and  insisted  that  its  abolition  should  be  forthwith 
pronounced.  The  people,  said  they,  has  just  been  declared 
sovereign,  but  it  will  not  be  really  so  till  you  have  delivered  it 
from  a  rival  authority — that  of  kings.  The  Assembly,  the 
tribunes,  rose  to  express  their  unanimous  reprobation  of 
royalty.  Bazire,  however,  wished,  he  said,  for  a  solemn  dis- 
cussion of  so  important  a  question.  ';  What  need  is  there  for 
discussion,"  replied  Gregoire,  "when  all  are  agreed?  Courts 
are  the  hotbed  of  crime,  the  focus  of  corruption ;  the  history 
of  kings  is  the  martyrology  of  nations.  Since  we  are  all 
equally  penetrated  with  these  truths,  what  need  is  there  for 
discussion  ?  " 

The  discussion  was  accordingly  closed.  Profound  silence 
ensued,  and  by  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  Assembly  the 
president  declared  that  royalty  was  abolished  in  France.  This 
decree  was  hailed  with  universal  applause  ;  it  was  ordered  to 
be  published  forthwith,  and  sent  to  the  armies  and  to  all  the 
municipalities.  * 

*  "  On  the  2 1st  of  September,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Lubin,  a  muni- 
cipal officer,  attended  by  horsemen  and  a  great  mob,  came  before  the  Tower  to 
make  a  proclamation.  Trumpets  were  sounded,  and  a  dead  silence  ensued. 
Lubin's  voice  was  of  the  stentorian  kind.  The  royal  family  could  distinctly 
hear  the  proclamation  of  the  abolition  of  royalty,  and  of  the  establishment 
of  a  republic.  Hebert,  so  well  known  by  the  name  of  Pere-Duchene,  and 
Destournelles,  since  made  minister  of  the  public  contributions,  were  then  on 
guard  over  the  family.  They  were  sitting  at  the  time  near  the  door,  and  rudely 
stared  the  King  in  the  face.  The  monarch  perceived  it,  but  having  a  book  in 
his  hand,  continued  to  read,  without  suffering  the  smallest  alteration  to  appear 
in  his  countenance.  The  Queen  displayed  equal  resolution.  At  the  end  of  the 
proclamation  the  trumpets  sounded  again,  and  I  went  to  the  window.  The 
eyes  of  the  populace  were  immediately  turned  upon  me  ;  I  was  taken  for  my 
royal  master,  and  overwhelmed  with  abuse.     The  same  evening  I  informed  the 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  83 

When  this  institution  of  the  republic  was  proclaimed,  the 
Prussians  were  still  threatening  the  French  territory.  Du- 
mouriez,  as  we  have  seen,  had  proceeded  to  St.  Menehould,  and 
the  cannonade  of  the  21st,  so  favourable  to  our  arms,  was  not 
yet  known  in  Paris.  On  the  following  day,  the  22nd,  Billaud- 
Varennes  proposed  not  to  date  any  longer  the  year  4  of  liberty, 
but  the  year  1  of  the  republic.  This  motion  was  adopted. 
The  year  1789  was  no  longer  considered  as  having  commenced 
liberty,  and  the  new  republican  era  began  on  that  very  day, 
the  22nd  of  September  1792. 

In  the  evening  the  news  of  the  cannonade  of  Valmy  arrived, 
and  diffused  general  joy.  On  the  petition  of  the  citizens  of 
Orleans,  who  complained  of  their  magistrates,  it  was  decreed 
that  there  should  be  a  new  election  of  members  of  the  ad- 
ministrative bodies  and  of  the  tribunals,  and  that  the  con- 
ditions of  eligibility  fixed  by  the  constitution  of  1 79 1  should  be 
considered  as  null.  It  was  no  longer  necessary  to  select  judges 
from  among  the  lawyers,  or  administrators  from  a  certain  class 
of  proprietors.  The  Legislative  Assembly  had  already  abolished 
the  marc  of  silver,  and  extended  the  electoral  qualification  to 
all  citizens  who  had  attained  the  age  of  majority. 

The  Convention  now  removed  the  last  demarcations,  by 
calling  all  the  citizens  to  all  the  functions  of  every  kind. 
Thus  was  introduced  the  system  of  absolute  equality.* 

King  that  curtains  and  more  clothes  were  wanting  for  the  Dauphin's  bed,  as  the 
weather  began  to  be  cold.  He  desired  me  to  write  the  demand  for  them,  which 
he  signed.  I  used  the  same  expressions  that  I  had  hitherto  done—'  The  King 
requires  tor  his  son,'  and  so  forth.  '  It  is  a  great  piece  of  assurance  in  you,'  said 
Destournelles,  '  thus  to  persist  in  a  title  abolished  by  the  will  of  the  people,  as 
you  have  just  heard.'  I  replied  that  I  had  heard  a  proclamation,  but  was 
unacquainted  with  the  object  of  it.  'It  is,'  rejoined  he,  'for  the  abolition  of 
royalty,  and  you  may  tell  the  gentleman ' — pointing  to  the  King — '  to  give  over 
taking  a  title  no  longer  acknowledged  by  the  people.'  I  told  him  I  could  not 
alter  this  note  which  was  already  signed,  as  the  King  would  ask  me  the  reason, 
and  it  was  not  my  part  to  tell  him.  'You  will  do  as  you  like,'  continued 
Destournelles,  'but  I  shall  not  certify  the  demand.'" — Clery. 

*  "The  name  of  citizen  was  now  the  universal  salutation  among  all  classes. 
Even  when  a  deputy  spoke  to  a  shoeblack,  that  symbol  of  equality  was  regularly 
exchanged  between  them  ;  and  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  society  there  was  a 
ludicrous  affectation  of  republican  brevity  and  simplicity.  'When  thou  con- 
querest  Brussels,'  said  Collot-d'Herbois,  the  actor,  to  General  Dumouriez,  'my 
wife,  who  is  in  that  city,  has  permission  to  reward  thee  with  a  kiss.'  Three 
weeks  afterwards  the  general  took  Brussels,  but  he  was  ungallant  enough  not  to 
profit  by  this  flattering  permission.  His  (puck  wit  caught  the  ridicule  of  such 
an  ejaculation  as  that  which  Camus  addressed  to  him.  'Citizen-general,'  said 
the  deputy,  'thou  dost  meditate  the  part  of  Caesar;  but  remember,  I  will  be 
BrutUS,  and  plunge  a  poniard  into  thy  bosom.'  'My  dear  Camus,'  replied  the 
lively  soldier,  who  had  been  in  worse  dangers  than  were  involved  in  this  classical 
threat,  'I  am  no  more  like  Caesar  than  you  are  like  Brutus;  and  an  assurance 
that  I  should  live  till  you  kill  me  would  be  equal  to  a  brevet  of  immortality.'  " — 
Scott's  Lift  <>f  Napoleon. 


84  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

On  the  23rd  all  the  ministers  were  heard.  Cambon,  the 
deputy,  made  a  report  on  the  state  of  the  finances.  The 
preceding  Assemblies  had  decreed  the  issue  of  assignats  to 
the  amount  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  millions  ;  two 
thousand  five  hundred  millions  had  been  expended  ;  there 
remained  two  hundred  millions,  of  which  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  were  yet  to  be  made,  and  the  other  twenty-four 
were  still  in  the  exchequer.  The  taxes  were  withheld  by  the 
departments  for  the  purchase  of  corn  ordered  by  the  last 
Assembly  ;  fresh  extraordinary  resources  were  required.  The 
mass  of  the  national  property  being  daily  increased  by  emigra- 
tion, the  Convention  was  not  afraid  to  issue  paper  repre- 
senting that  property,  neither  did  it  hesitate  to  do  so.  A 
new  creation  of  assignats  was  therefore  ordered. 

Roland  was  heard  on  the  state  of  France  and  of  the  capital. 
Equally  severe  and  still  bolder  than  on  the  3rd  of  September, 
he  expatiated  with  energy  on  the  outrages  in  Paris,  their  causes, 
and  the  means  of  preventing  them.  He  recommended  the 
prompt  institution  of  a  strong  and  vigorous  government  as  the 
only  guarantee  of  order  in  free  States.  His  report,  listened  to 
with  favour,  was  followed  by  applause,  but  nevertheless  excited 
no  explosion  among  those  who  considered  themselves  as  accused 
where  it  treated  of  the  disturbances  in  Paris. 

But  scarcely  was  this  first  survey  taken  of  the  state  of 
France,  when  news  arrived  of  the  breaking  out  of  commotions 
in  certain  departments.  Roland  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Convention,  denouncing  these  fresh  outrages,  and  demanding 
their  repression.  As  soon  as  this  letter  was  read,  the  deputies 
Kersaint  and  Buzot  rushed  to  the  tribune  to  denounce  the  acts 
of  violence  of  all  sorts  that  began  to  be  everywhere  committed. 
"  The  murders."  said  they,  "  are  imitated  in  the  departments. 
It  is  not  anarchy  that  must  be  accused  of  them,  but  tyrants  of  a 
new  species,  who  are  raising  themselves  above  scarcely  emanci- 
pated France.  It  is  from  Paris  that  these  fatal  exhortations  to 
crime  are  daily  emanating.  On  all  the  walls  of  the  capital  are 
posted  bills  instigating  to  murder,  to  conflagration,  to  pillage, 
and  lists  of  proscription,  in  which  new  victims  are  daily 
pointed  out.  How  are  the  people  to  be  preserved  from  the 
most  abject  wretchedness  if  so  many  citizens  are  doomed 
to  keep  themselves  concealed '?  How  make  France  hope  for 
a  constitution  if  the  Convention,  which  ought  to  decree  it, 
deliberates  under  uplifted  daggers  ?  A  stop  must,  for  the 
honour  of  the  Revolution,  be  put  to  all  these  excesses,  and 
a  distinction  made  between  the  civic  bravery  which  defied 
despotism    on   the    loth    of   August,  and  the    cruelty  which, 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  8  5 

on  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  September,  obeyed  a  mute  and  hidden 
tyranny." 

The  speakers  in  consequence  proposed  the  establishment  of 
a  committee  for  the  purpose — 

1.  Of  rendering  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  republic,  and 
of  Paris  in  particular  ; 

2.  Of  presenting  a  projet  de  loi  against  the  instigators  of 
murder  and  assassination  ; 

3.  Of  reporting  on  the  means  of  placing  at  the  disposal  of 
the  National  Convention  a  public  force  raised  in  the  eighty- 
three  departments. 

On  this  motion,  all  the  members  of  the  left  side,  on  which 
were  ranged  the  most  ardent  spirits  of  the  new  Assembly,  set 
up  tumultuous  shouts.  The  evils  prevailing  in  France  were, 
according  to  them,  exaggerated.  The  hypocritical  complaints 
which  they  had  just  heard  issued  from  the  depths  of  the  dun- 
geons in  which  were  justly  immured  those  suspected  persons 
who  for  three  years  had  been  invoking  civil  war  upon  their 
country.  The  evils  complained  of  were  inevitable.  The  people 
were  in  a  state  of  revolution,  and  it  was  their  duty  to  take 
energetic  measures  for  their  welfare.  Those  critical  moments 
were  now  past,  and  the  declarations  just  issued  by  the  Conven- 
tion would  suffice  to  allay  the  disturbances.  Besides,  where- 
fore an  extraordinary  jurisdiction  ?  The  old  laws  were  still  in 
force,  and  were  sufficient  for  provocations  to  murder.  Was  it 
a  new  martial  law  that  members  were  desirous  of  establishing? 

By  a  contradiction  very  common  among  parties,  those  who 
had  demanded  the  extraordinary  jurisdiction  of  the  17th  of 
August,  those  who  were  about  to  demand  that  of  the  revolu- 
tionary tribunal,  inveighed  against  a  law  which,  they  said, 
was  a  law  of  blood.  "A  law  of  blood  !  "  exclaimed  Kersaint ; 
"  when  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  spilling  of  blood  that  I  wish 
to  prevent ! '!  An  adjournment,  however,  was  vehemently 
called  for.  "To  adjourn  the  repression  of  murders,"  cried 
Wrgniaud.  "is  to  order  them.  The  foes  of  France  are  in 
arms  upon  our  territory,  and  you  would  have  the  French  citi- 
.  instead  of  fighting  them,  slaughter  one  another  like  the 
soldiers  of  <  !adnrus  !  " 

At  length  the  motion  of  Kersaint  and  Buzot  was  adopted 
entire.  A  decree  was  passed  that  laws  should  be  prepared  for 
Hi''  punishment  "I'  instigators  to  murder,  and  for  the  organiza- 
1  ion  of  a  dcpai  t  mental  guard. 

Tins  silting  of  the  24th  had  caused  a  great  agitation  in  the 
public  mind;  ye1  no  name  had  been  mentioned,  and  the  charges 
iu-oiight   forward    were    hut    general.      Next  day  the  deputies 


86  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

met  with  all  the  resentments  of  the  preceding  day  rankling 
within  them,  the  one  party  murmuring  against  the  decrees 
that  had  been  passed,  the  other  regretting  that  it  had  not 
said  enough  against  what  it  termed  the  disorganizing  faction. 
While  some  thus  attacked  and  others  defended  the  decrees, 
Merlin,  formerly  usher  and  municipal  officer  of  Thionville, 
afterwards  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  where  he 
signalized  himself  among  the  most  determined  patriots — Merlin, 
famous  for  his  ardour  and  his  intrepidity,  demanded  permission 
to  speak.  "  The  order  of  the  day,"  said  he,  "is  to  ascertain  if, 
as  Lasource  yesterday  assured  me,  there  exists  in  the  bosom 
of  the  National  Convention  a  faction  desirous  of  establishing 
a  triumvirate  or  a  dictatorship.  Let  all  suspicions  cease,  or 
let  Lasource  point  out  the  guilty  persons,  and  I  swear  to  stab 
them  before  the  face  of  the  Assembly."  Lasource,  thus  pointedly 
called  upon  to  explain  himself,  reported  his  conversation  with 
Merlin,  and  again  designated,  but  without  naming  them,  the 
ambitious  men  who  wished  to  exalt  themselves  upon  the  ruins 
of  demolished  royalty.  "It  is  they  who  have  instigated  to 
murder  and  plunder,  who  have  issued  orders  of  arrest  against 
members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  who  point  the  dagger 
against  the  courageous  members  of  the  Convention,  and  who 
impute  to  the  people  the  excesses  perpetrated  by  themselves." 
He  added,  that  when  the  time  should  arrive  he  would  tear  off 
the  veil  which  he  had  only  lifted,  were  he  even  to  perish  under 
their  blows. 

Still,  however,  the  triumvirs  were  not  named.  '  Osselin 
ascended  the  tribune,  and  mentioned  the  deputation  of  Paris 
of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  said  that  it  was  against  that 
body  that  jealousy  was  so  studiously  excited,  but  that  it  was 
neither  profoundly  ignorant  enough,  nor  profoundly  wicked 
enough,  to  have  conceived  plans  of  a  triumvirate  or  a  dictator- 
ship ;  that  he  would  take  his  oath  to  the  contrary,  and  he  called 
for  ignominy  and  death  against  the  first  who  should  be  caught 
meditating  such  plans.  "  Let  every  one,"  added  he,  "  follow 
me  to  the  tribune,  and  make  the  same  declaration."  "Yes," 
exclaimed  Rebeccpii,  the  courageous  friend  of  Barbaroux ; 
"yes,  that  party  charged  with  tyrannical  projects  exists,  and 
I  will  name  it — it  is  Robespierre's  party.  Marseilles  knows 
this,  and  has  sent  us  hither  to  oppose  it." 

This  bold  apostrophe  produced  a  strong  sensation  in  the 
Assembly.  All  eyes  turned  towards  Robespierre.  Danton 
hastened  to  speak,  for  the  purpose  of  healing  divisions,  and  of 
preventing  accusations  which  he  knew  to  be  in  part  directed 
against  himself.     "That  day,"    said  he,    "will   be   a  glorious 


sept.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  87 

one  for  the  republic,  on  which  a  frank  and  brotherly  explana- 
tion shall  dispel  all  jealousies.  People  talk  of  dictators,  of 
triumvirs  ;  but  that  charge  is  vague,  and  ought  to  be  signed." 
"  I  will  sign  it !  "  again  exclaimed  Rebecqui,  rushing  to  the 
bureau.  "  Good,"  rejoined  Danton  ;  "  if  there  be  guilty  persons, 
let  them  be  sacrificed,  even  though  they  were  my  dearest  friends. 
For  my  part,  my  life  is  known.  In  the  patriotic  societies,  on 
the  10th  of  August,  in  the  executive  council.  I  have  served 
the  cause  of  liberty,  without  any  private  view,  and  with  the 
energy  of  my  disposition.  For  my  own  person,  then,  I  fear  no 
accusations ;  but  I  wish  to  save  everybody  else  from  them. 
There  is,  I  admit,  in  the  deputation  of  Paris  a  man  who  might 
be  called  the  Royou  of  the  republicans — that  is  Marat.  I 
have  frequently  been  charged  with  being  the  instigator  of  his 
placards  ;  but  I  appeal  to  the  president,  and  beg  him  to  declare 
if  in  the  commune  and  the  committees  he  has  not  seen  me 
frequently  at  variance  with  Marat.  For  the  rest,  that  writer, 
so  vehemently  accused,  has  passed  part  of  his  life  in  cellars  and 
prisons.  Suffering  has  soured  his  temper,  and  his  extravagances 
ought  to  be  excused.  But  let  us  leave  mere  individual  discus- 
sions, and  endeavour  to  render  them  subservient  to  the  public 
welfare.  Decree  the  penalty  of  death  against  any  one  who 
shall  propose  either  a  dictator  or  a  triumvirate."  This  motion 
was  hailed  with  applause. 

"  That  is  not  all,"  resumed  Danton  ;  "  there  is  another  appre- 
hension diffused  among  the  public.  That,  too,  ought  to  be 
dispelled.  It  is  alleged  that  part  of  the  deputies  are  meditat- 
ing the  federative  system,  and  the  division  of  France  into  a 
great  number  of  sections.  It  is  essential  that  we  should  form 
one  whole.  Declare,  then,  by  another  decree  the  unity  of 
France  and  of  its  government.  These  foundations  laid,  let  us 
discard  our  jealousies,  let  us  be  united,  and  push  forward  to 
our  goal." 

Buzot,  in  reply  to  Danton,  observed,  that  the  dictatorship 
was  a  thing  that  might  be  assumed,  and  was  not  likely  to  be 
demanded ;  and  that  to  enact  laws  against  such  a  demand  was 
illusory ;  that  as  for  the  federative  system,  nobody  dreamt 
of  it ;  that  the  plan  of  a  departmental  guard  was  a  mean  of 
unity,  since  all  the  departments  would  be  called  upon  in  com- 
mon to  guard  the  national  representation;  that  for  the  rest,  it 
might  be  well  to  mala-  a  law  on  that  subject,  but  that  it  ought 
to  be  maturely  weighed,  and  in  consequence  the  propositions 
of  Danton  ought  to  be  referred  to  the  committee  of  six  decreed 
on  tin-  preceding  day. 

Robespierre,    personally    accused,    asked    leave    to    speak    in 


88  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

his  turn.  He  set  out  with  declaring  that  it  was  not  himself 
that  he  was  going  to  defend,  but  the  public  weal,  attacked 
in  his  person.  Addressing  Rebecqui,  "  Citizen,"  said  he,  "  who 
have  not  been  afraid  to  accuse  me,  I  thank  you.  In  your 
courage  I  recognize  the  celebrated  city  which  has  deputed 
you.  The  country,  you,  and  myself  will  be  gainers  by  this 
accusation. 

"  A  party,"  he  continued.  "  has  been  pointed  out  as  medi- 
tating a  new  tyranny,  and  I  have  been  called  its  chief.     The 
charge  is  vague  ;    but  thanks   to    all    that    I    have   done   for 
liberty,  it  will  be  easy  for  me  to  reply  to  it.     It  was  I  who 
in  the  Constituent  Assembly  for  three  years  combated  all  the 
factions,  whatever  name  they  borrowed.     It  was  I  who  com- 
bated  the   Court,   and   disdained  its  gifts.      It  was  I  .    .    .  " 
"  That  is  not  the  question,"  exclaimed  several  deputies.     "  Let 
him  justify  himself,"  replied  Tallien.     "  Since  I  am  accused 
of  treason  against  the  country,"  resumed  Robespierre,  "have 
I  not  a  right  to  rebut  the  charge  by  the  evidence  of  my  whole 
life  ?  "     He  then  began  again  to  enumerate  his  twofold  services 
against  the   aristocracy,  and  the  false  patriots  who  assumed 
the  mask  of  liberty.     As  he  uttered  these  words  he  pointed 
to  the  right   side  of  the  Convention.     Osselin,  himself  tired 
of  this  enumeration,  interrupted  Robespierre,  and  desired  him 
to  give  a  frank  explanation.      "  The  question,"  said  Lecointe- 
Puiravaux,   "  does  not  relate  to  what  you  have  done,  but  to 
what  you  are   charged  with  doing  at  the   present  moment." 
Robespierre  then  fell  back  upon  the  liberty  of  opinion,  upon 
the   sacred  right  of  defence,   upon  the   public  weal,   equally 
compromized  with  himself  in  this  accusation.     Again  he  was 
exhorted  to  be  brief,  but  he  proceeded  with  the  same  diffuse- 
ness  as  before.     Referring  to  the  famous  decrees   passed  on 
his  motion   against  the   re-election  of  the   Constituents,   and 
against  the  nomination  of  deputies  to  places  in  the  gift  of  the 
government,  he  asked  if  those  were  proofs  of  ambition.     Then 
recriminating  on  his   adversaries,  he   renewed  the   accusation 
of  federalism,  and  concluded  by  demanding  the  adoption  of 
the   decrees   moved    by   Danton,   and    a    serious  investigation 
of  the  charge  preferred   against  himself.     Barbaroux,  out  of 
patience,   hastened   to    the  bar.     "  Barbaroux  of  Marseilles," 
said  he,  "  comes  to  sign  the  denunciation  made  against  Robe- 
spierre  by  Rebecqui."     He  then  related  a  very  insignificant 
and  oft-repeated  story,  namely,  that  before  the  10th  of  August, 
Panis  took  him  to  Robespierre's,  and  that  on   leaving,  after 
this    interview,    Panis   presented   Robespierre    to   him  as  the 
only   man,    the    only  dictator,   capable   of    saving   the    public 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  8  9 

weal ;  and  that  upon  this,  he,  Barbarous,  replied  that  the 
Marseillais  would  never  bow  their  heads  before  either  a  king 
or  a  dictator. 

We  have  already  detailed  these  circumstances,  and  the 
reader  lias  had  an  opportunity  of  judging-  whether  these  vague 
and  trivial  expressions  of  Robespierre's  friends  furnished  suf- 
ficient ground  for  an  accusation.  Barbaroux  reviewed,  one 
after  another,  the  imputations  thrown  out  against  the  Girondins. 
He  proposed  that  federalism  should  be  proscribed  by  a  decree, 
and  that  all  the  members  of  the  National  Convention  should 
swear  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  blockaded  in  the  capital, 
and  to  die  there,  rather  than  leave  it.  After  prolonged 
plaudits,  Barbaroux  resumed,  and  said  that,  as  for  the  design 
of  a  dictators] iip.  it  could  not  be  disputed  ;  that  the  usurpa- 
tions of  the  commune,  the  orders  issued  against  members 
of  the  national  representation,  the  commissioners  sent  into 
the  departments,  all  proved  a  project  of  domination  ;  but  that 
the  city  of  Marseilles  watched  over  the  safety  of  its  deputies  ; 
that  ever  prompt  to  anticipate  beneficial  decrees,  it  despatched 
the  battalion  of  federalists,  in  spite  of  the  royal  veto,  and  that 
now  it  was  sending  off  eight  hundred  of  its  citizens,  to  whom 
their  fathers  had  given  a  brace  of  pistols,  a  sword,  a  musket, 
and  an  assignat  of  five  hundred  livres  ;  that  to  these  it  had 
joined  two  hundred  cavalry,  well  equipped,  and  that  this  force 
would  serve  to  commence  the  departmental  guard  proposed 
for  the  safety  of  the  Convention.  "  As  for  Robespierre," 
added  Barbaroux,  "  I  deeply  regret  having  accused  him,  for 
I  once  loved  and  esteemed  him,  yes,  we  all  loved  and  esteemed 
him,  and  yet  we  have  accused  him.  Let  him  acknowledge 
his  faults,  and  we  will  desist.  Let  him  cease  to  complain, 
for  if  he  has  saved  liberty  by  his  writings,  we  have  defended 
it  with  our  persons.  Citizens,  when  the  day  of  peril  shall 
arrive,  then  people  will  be  able  to  judge  us,  then  we  shall 
see  if  the  writers  of  placards  have  the  courage  to  die  along 
with  us  !  " 

Numerous  plaudits  accompanied  Barbaroux  to  his  seat.  At 
the  word  placards.  Marat  demanded  permission  to  speak. 
Cambon  also  asked  it.  and  obtained  the  preference.  He  then 
denounced  placards  in  which  a  dictatorship  was  proposed  as 
indispensable,  and  which  were  signed  with  Marat's  name.  At 
these  words  every  one  moved  away  Prom  him.  and  he  replied 
with  a  smile  to  the  aversion  that  was  manifested  for  him. 
Cambon  w;is  followed  by  other  accusers  of  Marat  and  of  the 
commune.  Marat  Long  strove  to  obtain  permission  to  speak; 
but    I'anis    gained    it    before    him,    in     order    to    answer    the 


90  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

allegations  of  Barbaroux.  Panis  in  a  clumsy  manner  denied 
real  acts,  but  which  proved  little,  and  which  it  would  have  been 
better  to  admit  and  to  insist  on  their  insignificance.  He  was 
then  interrupted  by  Brissot,  who  asked  him  the  reason  of  the 
order  of  arrest  issued  against  himself.  Panis  appealed  to 
circumstances,  which,  he  said,  had  been  too  readily  forgotten, 
to  the  terror  and  confusion  which  then  overwhelmed  men's 
minds,  to  the  multitude  of  denunciations  against  the  con- 
spirators of  the  ioth  of  August,  to  the  strong  rumours  circu- 
lated against  Brissot,  and  to  the  necessity  for  investigating 
them. 

After  these  long  explanations,  every  moment  interrupted 
and  resumed,  Marat,  still  insisting  on  being  heard,  at  length 
obtained  permission  to  speak,  when  it  was  no  longer  possible 
to  refuse  it.  It  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  appeared  in 
the  tribune.  The  sight  of  him  produced  a  burst  of  indignation, 
and  a  tremendous  uproar  was  raised  against  him.  "  Down ! 
down  !  "  was  the  general  cry.  Slovenly  in  his  dress,  wearing 
a  cap,  which  he  laid  down  upon  the  tribune,  and  surveying  his 
audience  with  a  convulsive  and  contemptuous  smile,  "  I  have," 
said  he,  "  a  great  number  of  personal  enemies  in  this  Assembly." 
.  .  .  "All!  all!"  cried  most  of  the  deputies.  "I  have  in 
this  Assembly,"  resumed  Marat,  with  the  same  assurance,  "  a 
great  number  of  personal  enemies.  I  recall  them  to  modesty. 
Let  them  spare  their  ferocious  clamours  against  a  man  who  has 
served  liberty  and  themselves  more  than  they  imagine. 

"  People  talk  of  a  triumvirate,  of  a  dictatorship— a  plan 
which  they  attribute  to  the  deputation  of  Paris.  Well,  it  is 
due  to  justice  to  declare  that  my  colleagues,  and  especially 
Robespierre  and  Danton,  have  always  been  hostile  to  it,  and 
that  I  have  always  had  to  combat  them  on  this  point.  I  was 
the  first  and  the  only  one  among  all  the  political  writers  of 
France  who  thought  of  this  measure  as  the  only  expedient 
for  crushing  traitors  and  conspirators.  It  is  I  alone  who 
ought  to  be  punished  ;  but  before  you  punish,  you  ought  to 
hear."  These  words  were  followed  by  some  plaudits  from  a 
few  members.  Marat  continued:  "Amidst  the  everlasting 
machinations  of  a  perfidious  King,  of  an  abominable  Court, 
and  of  false  patriots,  who,  in  both  Assemblies,  sold  the  public 
liberty,  will  you  reproach  me  for  having  devised  the  only  means 
of  salvation,  and  for  having  called  down  vengeance  upon  guilty 
heads  ?  No  ;  for  the  people  would  condemn  you.  It  has  felt 
that  it  had  but  this  expedient  left,  and  it  is  by  making  itself 
dictator  that  it  has  delivered  itself  from  traitors. 

"I  have  shuddered  more  than  any  other  at  the  idea  of  these 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  91 

terrible  movements,  and  it  is  that  they  might  not  prove  for 
ever  vain  that  I  should  have  wished  them  to  be  directed  bv  a 
just  and  firm  hand.  If  at  the  storming  of  the  Bastille  the 
necessity  of  that  measure  had  been  understood,  five  hundred 
guilty  heads  would  have  fallen  at  my  bidding,  and  peace  would 
have  been  ensured  from  that  time.  But  for  want  of  the  dis- 
play of  this  energy,  equally  wise  and  necessary,  one  hundred 
thousand  patriots  have  been  slaughtered,  and  one  hundred 
thousand  more  are  threatened  with  slaughter.  As  a  proof  that 
it  was  not  my  wish  to  convert  this  dictator,  tribune,  triumvir — 
the  name  is  of  no  consequence — into  a  tyrant  such  as  stupidity 
might  conceive,  but  a  victim  devoted  to  the  country,  whose  lot 
no  ambitious  man  would  have  envied,  is,  that  I  proposed  at  the 
same  time  that  his  authority  should  last  for  a  few  days  only, 
that  it  should  be  limited  to  the  power  of  condemning  traitors, 
and  even  that  a  cannon-ball  should  during  that  time  be 
fastened  to  his  leg.  that  he  might  always  be  in  the  power  of 
the  people.  My  ideas,  revolting  as  they  may  appear  to  you, 
tended  only  to  the  public  welfare.*  If  you  were  yourselves 
not  enlightened  enough  to  comprehend  me,  so  much  the  worse 
for  you  !  " 

The  profound  silence  which  had  prevailed  thus  far  was  in- 
terrupted by  some  bursts  of  laughter,  which  did  not  discon- 
cert the  speaker,  who  was  far  more  terrible  than  ludicrous. 
He  resumed :  "  Such  was  my  opinion,  written,  signed,  and 
publicly  maintained.  If  it  were  false,  it  would  have  been 
right  to  combat  it.  to  enlighten  me.  and  not  to  denounce  me 
to  despotism. 

"I  have  been  accused  of  ambition;  but  look  at  and  judge 
me.  Had  I  but  condescended  to  set  a  price  upon  my  silence, 
I  might  have  been  gorged  with  gold — and  I  am  poor.  Per- 
secuted without  ceasing,  I  wandered  from  cellar  to  cellar,  and 
I  have  preached  truth  from  a  wood-pile. 

"As  for  you,  open  your  eyes.  Instead  of  wasting  time  in 
scandalous  discussions,  perfect  the  declaration  of  rights,  estab- 
lish  the  constitution,  and  lay  the  foundations  of  the  jusl  and 
free  government  which  is  the  real  object  of  your  labours." 

*  "  There  is  no  kind  of  folly  which  may  not  come  into  the  head  of  a  man,  and 
what  is  worse,  which  may  not  for  a  moment  be  realized.  Marat  had  several 
ideas  which  were  unalterable.  The  Revolution  had  its  enemies,  and  accord  in  <; 
to  him,  in  order  to  ensure  its  duration,  these  were  to  be  destroyed  ;  he  thought 
no  means  more  obvious  than  to  exterminate  them  ;  and  to  name  a  dictator  whose 
functions  should  be  limited  to  proscription  :  lie  preached  openly  these  two  doc- 
trines without  cruelty,  but  with  an  air  of  cynicism  equally  regardless  of  the 
rules  of  decency  and  the  lives  of  men  ;  and  despising  as  weak-minded  all  who 
styled  his  projects  atrocious  instead  of  regarding  them  as  profound." — Mignet. 


92  HISTORY  OF  sept.  1792 

A  general  attention  had  been  paid  to  this  strange  man,  and 
the  Assembly,  stupefied  by  a  system  so  alarming  and  so  deeply 
calculated,  had  kept  silence.  Emboldened  by  this  silence,  some 
partisans  of  Marat  had  applauded  ;  but  their  example  was  not 
followed,  and  Marat  resumed  his  place  without  plaudits,  but 
without  any  demonstrations  of  hostility. 

Vergniaud,  the  purest,  the  most  prudent  of  the  Girondins, 
deemed  it  right  to  speak  in  order  to  rouse  the  indignation 
of  the  Assembly.  He  deplored  the  misfortune  of  having  to 
answer  a  man  who  had  not  cleared  himself  from  the  decrees 
issued  against  him — a  man  all  dripping  with  calumnies,  gall, 
and  blood.  The  murmurs  were  renewed ;  but  he  proceeded 
with  firmness,  and  after  having  distinguished  in  the  deputa- 
tion of  Paris,  David,  Dussaulx,  and  some  other  members,  he 
took  in  hand  the  famous  circular  of  the  commune,  which  we 
have  already  quoted,  and  read  the  whole  of  it.  As,  however, 
it  was  already  known,  it  did  not  produce  so  much  effect  as 
another  paper  which  Boileau,  the  deputy,  read  in  his  turn. 
It  was  a  handbill  printed  by  Marat  that  very  day,  in  which  he 
said,  "A  single  reflection  oppresses  me,  namely,  that  all  my 
efforts  to  save  the  people  will  end  in  nothing  without  a  fresh 
insurrection.  From  observing  the  temper  of  most  of  the 
deputies  to  the  National  Convention,  I  despair  of  the  public 
welfare.  If  the  bases  of  the  constitution  are  not  laid  in  the 
first  eight  sittings,  expect  nothing  more  from  this  Assembly. 
Fifty  years  of  anarchy  await  you,  and  you  will  not  emerge 
from  it  except  by  means  of  a  dictator,  a  true  patriot  and 
statesman.  .  .  .  0  prating  people  !  if  thou  didst  hut  know  how 
to  act  I  " 

The  reading  of  this  paper  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
bursts  of  indignation.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished  a  great 
number  of  members  fell  foul  of  Marat.  Some  threatened  him, 
and  cried,  "  To  the  Abbaye  !  to  the  guillotine  !  "  *  while  others 
loaded  him  with  contempt.  A  fresh  smile  was  his  only  answer 
to  all  the  attacks  levelled  at  him.  Boileau  demanded  a  decree 
of  accusation,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Assembly  was  for 

*  "This  fatal  instrument  was  named  after  its  inventor,  of  whom  the  Bio- 
graphic Modcrne  gives  the  following  account :  '  M.  Guillotin,  a  physician  at 
Paris,  born  in  1738,  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  National  Assembly,  and 
attracted  attention  chiefly  by  his  great  gentleness  of  disposition.  In  1789  he 
made  a  speech  on  the  penal  code,  wherein  a  tone  of  great  humanity  was  percep- 
tible, and  which  terminated  by  a  proposal  for  substituting,  as  less  cruel  than  the 
cord,  that  fatal  machine,  the  guillotine,  which  in  the  end  received  so  many 
victims.  Some  persons,  carried  away  by  the  horror  which  this  machine  has 
excited,  have  considered  as  a  monster  one  of  the  gentlest  and  at  the  same  time 
most  obscure  men  of  the  Revolution.  Nobody  deplored  more  bitterly  than  M. 
Guillotin  the  fatal  use  that  has  been  made  of  his  invention." 


sept.  1792       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  93 

putting  the  question  to  the  vote.  Marat  coolly  insisted  on 
being  heard.  They  refused  to  hear  him  unless  at  the  bar. 
At  length  he  obtained  the  tribune.  According  to  his  usual 
expression  he  recalled  his  enemies  to  modesty.  As  for  the 
decrees  which  members  had  not  been  ashamed  to  throw  in  his 
teeth,  he  gloried  in  them,  because  they  were  the  price  of  his 
courage.  Besides,  the  people,  in  sending  him  to  this  National 
Assembly,  had  annulled  the  decrees,  and  decided  between  his 
accusers  and  himself.  As  for  the  paper  which  had  just  been 
read,  he  would  not  disown  it ;  for  falsehood,  he  said,  never 
approached  his  lips,  and  fear  was  a  stranger  to  his  heart. 

"To  demand  a  recantation  of  me,"  added  he,  "is  to  require 
me  not  to  see  what  I  do  see,  not  to  feel  what  I  do  feel,  and 
there  is  no  power  under  the  sun  capable  of  producing  this 
reversal  of  ideas.  I  can  answer  for  the  purity  of  my  heart, 
but  I  cannot  change  my  thoughts.  They  are  what  the  nature 
of  things  suggests  to  me." 

Marat  then  informed  the  Assembly  that  this  paper,  printed 
as  a  placard  ten  days  before,  had  been  reprinted  against  his 
will  by  his  bookseller ;  but  that  he  had  given,  in  the  first 
number  of  the  Journal  de  la  lie'publiquc ,  a  new  exposition  of 
his  principles,  with  which  he  was  sure  the  Assembly  would  be 
satisfied  if  it  would  but  listen  to  it. 

The  Assembly  actually  consented  to  the  reading  of  the 
article,  and  appeased  by  the  moderate  expressions  of  Marat 
in  this  article,  entitled  his  "New  March,"  it  treated  him  with 
lfss  severity;  nay.  he  even  obtained  some  tokens  of  appro- 
bation. But  he  again  ascended  the  tribune  with  his  usual 
audacity,  and  presumed  to  lecture  his  colleagues  on  the  danger 
of  giving  way  1o  passion  and  prejudice;  saying,  that  if  his 
journal  had  not  appeared  that  very  day  to  exculpate  him, 
they  would  have  sent  him  blindly  to  prison.  "But,"  added 
he,  showing  a  pistol  which  he  always  carried  in  his  pocket. 
and  which  he  pointed  to  his  forehead,  "  I  had  wherewithal  to 
remain  free  ;  and  had  you  decreed  my  accusation.  I  would  have 
blown  out  my  brains  in  this  very  tribune.  Such  is  the  fruit 
of  niy  labours,  my  dangers,  my  sufferings!  Well.  1  shall  slay 
amnn^  you  to  tidy  your  fury!"  At  these  concluding  words, 
his  colleagues,  whose  indignation  was  rekindled,  cried  out  that 
he  was  a  madman,  a  villain,  and  a  long  tumult  ensued. 

The  discussion  had  lasted  several  hours,  and  what  had  been 
elicited?  Nothing  whatever  concerning  the  alleged  plan  of  a 
dictatorship  for  the  benefit  of  a  triumvirate,  but  much  relative 
to  the  character  of  the  parties  and  their  respective  strength. 
The  Assembly   had  beheld  Danton  easy   and  full  of  goodwill 


94  HISTORY  OF  OCT.  1792 

for  his  colleagues,  on  condition  that  he  should  not  be  annoyed 
on  account  of  his  conduct ;  Robespierre  full  of  spleen  and 
pride  ;  Marat  astonishing  by  his  cynicism  and  boldness,  re- 
pelled even  by  his  party,  but  striving  to  accustom  minds 
to  his  atrocious  systems  ;  all  three,  in  short,  succeeding  in 
the  Revolution  by  different  faculties  and  vices,  not  agreeing 
together,  reciprocally  disowning  each  other,  and  evidently 
actuated  solely  by  that  love  of  influence  which  is  natural  to 
all  men,  and  which  is  not  yet  a  project  of  tyranny.  The 
Assembly  united  with  the  Girondins  in  proscribing  September 
and  its  horrors ;  it  decreed  them  the  esteem  due  to  their 
talents  and  their  integrity ;  but  it  deemed  their  accusations 
exaggerated  and  imprudent,  and  could  not  help  perceiving 
in  their  indignation  some  personal  feelings. 

From  that  moment  the  Assembly  divided  itself  into  a 
right  side  and  a  left  side,  as  in  the  first  days  of  the  Con- 
stituent. On  the  right  side  were  ranged  all  the  Girondins 
and  those  who,  without  being  also  personally  connected  with 
their  party,  yet  participated  in  their  generous  indignation. 
To  the  centre  resorted,  in  considerable  numbers,  those  upright 
and  peaceable  deputies,  who,  not  being  urged  either  by  char- 
acter or  talent  to  take  any  other  share  in  the  struggle  of 
parties  than  by  their  vote,  sought  obscurity  and  safety  by 
mixing  with  the  crowd.  Their  numerical  influence  in  the 
Assembly,  the  respect,  still  very  great,  that  was  paid  them, 
the  anxiety  shown  by  the  Jacobin  and  municipal  party  to 
justify  itself  in  their  opinion — all  served  to  encourage  them. 
They  fondly  believed  that  the  authority  of  the  Convention 
would  suffice  in  time  to  daunt  the  agitators ;  they  were  not 
sorry  to  check  the  energy  of  the  Girondins,  and  to  be  able  to 
tell  them  that  their  accusations  were  rash.  They  were  still 
but  reasonable  and  impartial ;  at  times  somewhat  jealous  of 
the  too  frequent  and  too  brilliant  eloquence  of  the  right  side ; 
but  they  were  soon  destined  to  become  weak  and  cowardly 
in  the  presence  of  tyranny.  They  were  called  the  Plain ; 
and  by  way  of  opposition  the  name  of  Mountain  was  given 
to  the  left  side,  where  all  the  Jacobins  were  crowded  together. 
On  the  benches  of  this  Mountain  were  seen  the  deputies  of 
Paris,  and  the  deputies  of  the  departments  who  owed  their 
nomination  to  correspondence  with  the  clubs,  or  who  had  been 
gained  since  their  arrival  by  the  idea  that  no  quarter  ought  to 
be  given  to  the  enemies  of  the  Revolution.  It  comprehended, 
moreover,  some  distinguished,  but  exact,  severe,  positive  minds, 
who  condemned  the  theories  and  the  philanthropy  of  the 
Girondins  as  vain  abstractions.     The  Mountaineers,  however, 


OCT.  1792         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  95 

were  still  far  from  numerous.  The  Plain,  united  with  the 
right  side,  composed  an  immense  majority,  which  had  conferred 
the  presidency  on  Petion,  and  which  approved  of  the  attacks 
of  the  Girondins  on  September,  excepting  the  personalities 
which  seemed  too  premature  and  too  unfounded. 

The  Assembly  had  passed  to  the  order  of  the  day  upon  the 
reciprocal  accusations  of  the  two  parties  ;  but  the  decree  of  the 
preceding  day  was  upheld,  and  three  points  were  determined 
upon  :  ( 1 )  to  demand  of  the  minister  of  the  interior  an  exact 
and  faithful  report  of  the  state  of  Paris  ;  (2)  to  draw  up  a 
projet  de  hi  against  the  instigators  of  murder  and  pillage  ;  (3) 
to  devise  means  for  collecting  around  the  Convention  a  depart- 
mental guard.  As  to  the  report  on  the  state  of  Paris,  it  was 
known  with  what  energy  and  in  what  spirit  that  task  would  be 
performed,  since  it  was  committed  to  Roland.  As  for  the 
commission  charged  with  the  two  frojets  against  written  in- 
stigations, and  for  the  raising  of  a  guard,  the  like  hopes 
were  conceived  of  its  labours,  because  it  was  entirely  com- 
posed of  Girondins.  Buzot,  Lasource,  and  Kersaint  formed 
part  of  it. 

It  was  to  these  two  latter  measures  that  the  Mountaineers 
were  most  hostile.  They  asked  if  the  Girondins  meant  to 
renew  martial  law  and  the  massacres  of  the  Champ  de  Mars ; 
and  if  the  Convention  intended  to  surround  itself  with  satel- 
lites and  life-guards,  like  the  last  King.  They  again  brought 
forward — so  the  Girondins  alleged — all  the  reasons  urged  by 
the  Court  against  the  camp  near  Paris. 

Many  even   of  the   most  ardent   members  of  the   left  side 

t 

were  themselves,  in  their  quality  of  members  of  the  Conven- 
tion, decidedly  adverse  to  the  usurpations  of  the  commune  ; 
and  setting  aside  the  deputies  of  Paris,  none  of  them  defended 
it  when  attacked,  as  it  was  every  day.  Accordingly  decrees 
briskly  followed  decrees.  As  the  commune  deferred  renewing 
itself,  in  execution  of  the  decree  prescribing  the  re-election  of 
all  the  administrative  bodies,  the  executive  council  was  ordered 
to  superintend  its  renewal,  and  to  report  on  the  subject  to 
the  Assembly  within  three  days.  A  commission  of  six  members 
was  appointed  to  receive  the  declaration  signed  by  all  those 
wIki  had  deposited  effects  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and  to  investi- 
gate the  existence  of  those  effects,  or  the  use  to  which  they 
had  been  applied  by  the  municipality.  The  directory  of  the 
department,  which  the  insurrectional  commune  had  reduced  to 
the  title  and  duties  of  a  mere  administrative  commission,  was 
reinstated  in  all  its  functions,  and  resumed  its  title  of  directory. 
The  communal  elections,  for  the  appointment  of  the  mayor,  the 


96  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

municipality,  and  the  general  council,  which  by  the  contriv- 
ance of  the  Jacobins  were  to  have  taken  place  vivcl  voce,  for 
the  purpose  of  intimidating  the  weak,  were  again  rendered 
secret  by  a  confirmation  of  the  existing  law.  The  elections 
already  made  in  this  illegal  manner  were  annulled,  and  the 
sections  proceeded  to  new  ones  in  the  prescribed  form.  Lastly, 
all  prisoners  confined  without  any  mandate  of  arrest  were 
ordered  to  be  forthwith  liberated.  This  was  a  severe  blow 
given  to  the  committee  of  surveillance,  which  was  particularly 
inveterate  against  persons. 

All  these  decrees  had  been  passed  in  the  first  days  of 
October ;  and  the  commune,  being  closely  pressed,  found  itself 
obliged  to  yield  to  the  ascendency  of  the  Convention.  The 
committee  of  surveillance,  however,  would  not  suffer  itself  to 
be  beaten  without  resistance.  Its  members  repaired  to  the 
Assembly,  saying  that  they  came  to  confound  their  enemies. 
Having  in  their  custody  the  papers  found  in  the  house  of 
Laporte.  intendant  of  the  civil  list,  condemned,  as  the  reader 
will  recollect,  by  the  tribunal  of  the  17th  of  August,  they  had 
discovered,  they  said,  a  letter  containing  a  statement  of  the 
sums  which  certain  decrees  passed  by  the  preceding  Assemblies 
had  cost.  They  came  to  unmask  the  deputies  sold  to  the  Court, 
and  to  prove  the  falseness  of  their  patriotism.  "Name  them," 
cried  the  Assembly  with  indignation.  "  We  cannot  name  them 
yet,"  replied  the  members  of  the  committee.  In  order  to  repel 
the  calumny,  a  commission  of  twenty- four  deputies,  who  had  not 
been  members  of  the  Constituent  and  Legislative  Assemblies, 
was  immediately  appointed  to  examine  the  papers,  and  to  make 
their  report  on  the  subject.  Marat,  the  inventor  of  this  device, 
boasted  in  his  journal  that  he  had  repaid  the  Holandists,  the 
accusers  of  the  commune,  in  their  own  coin;  and  he  proclaimed 
the  pretended  discovery  of  a  treason  of  the  Gironclins.  On  an 
examination  of  the  papers,  however,  none  of  the  existing 
deputies  were  found  to  be  compromized,  and  the  committee 
of  surveillance  was  declared  guilty  of  calumny.  The  papers 
being  too  voluminous  for  the  twenty-four  deputies  to  prosecute 
the  examination  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  they  were  removed  to 
one  of  the  committee-rooms  of  the  Assembly.  Marat,  finding 
himself  thus  deprived  of  rich  materials  for  his  daily  accusations, 
was  highly  incensed,  and  alleged  in  his  journal  that  there  was 
a  design  to  destroy  the  evidences  of  all  the  treasons. 

The  Assembly,  having  thus  repressed  the  excesses  of  the 
commune,  directed  its  attention  to  the  executive  power,  and 
decided  that  the  ministers  could  no  longer  be  taken  from  among 
its  members,     Danton,  obliged  to  choose  between  the  functions 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  97 

of  minister  of  justice  and  those  of  member  of  the  Convention, 
preferred,  like  Mirabeau,  those  which  ensured  the  tribune  to 
him,  and  quitted  the  ministry  without  rendering  any  account 
of  the  secret  expenditure,  saying  that  he  had  delivered  that 
account  to  the  council.  The  fact  was  not  exactly  so  ;  but  the 
Assembly,  without  looking  too  closely  into  the  matter,  suffered 
the  excuse  to  pass.  On  the  refusal  of  Francois  de  Neufchateau, 
Garat,*  a  distinguished  writer,  a  clever  metaphysician,  and 
who  had  acquired  reputation  by  the  ability  with  which  he 
edited  the  Journal  dc  Paris,  accepted  the  post  of  minister  of 
justice.  Servan,  weary  of  a  laborious  administration,  which 
was  above,  not  his  faculties,  but  his  strength,  preferred  the 
command  of  the  army  of  observation  that  was  forming  along 
the  Pyrenees.  Lebrun  was  therefore  directed  to  take  ad 
interim  the  portfolio  of  war,  in  addition  to  that  of  foreign 
affairs.  Lastly.  Roland  offered  his  resignation,  being  tired  of 
an  anarchy  so  contrary  to  his  integrity  and  his  inilexible  love 
of  order.  The  Girondins  proposed  to  the  Assembly  to  request 
him  to  retain  the  portfolio.  The  Mountaineers,  and  Danton 
in  particular,  whom  lie  had  greatly  thwarted,  opposed  this 
step  as  not  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  Assembly. 
Danton  complained  that  he  was  a  weak  man.  and  under  the 
government  of  his  wife.  In  reply  to  this  charge  of  weakness, 
his  opponents  referred  to  Roland's  letter  of  the  3rd  of  Sep- 
tember ;  and  they  might,  moreover,  have  adduced  the  opposi- 
tion which  lie.  Danton.  had  experienced  in  the  council.  The 
Assembly,  however,  passed  to  the  order  of  the  day.  Being 
pressed  by  the  Girondins,  and  by  all  good  men,  Roland  con- 
tinued in  the  ministry.  "I  remain  in  it,"  he  nobly  wrote  to 
the  Assembly,  "  since  calumny  attacks  me  there,  since  dangers 
there  await  me,  since  the  Convention  has  appeared  to  wish  me 
still  to  be  there.  It  is  too  glorious,"  he  added,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  letter,  "that  no  worse  reproach  can  be  brought 
against  me  than  my  union  with  courage  and  virtue." 

The  Assembly  then  divided  itself  into  various  committees. 
It  appointed  a  committee  of  surveillance,  composed  of  thirty 
members  ;  a  second,  of  war.  consisting  of  twenty-four  ;  a  third, 
of  accounts,  of  fifteen;  a  fourth,  of  criminal  and  civil  legisla- 
tion, of  forty-eight;  a  fifth,  of  assignats,  specie,  and  finances, 
of  forty-two.  A  sixth  committee,  more  important  than  all 
the  others,  was  added  to  the  preceding.  It  was  to  direct  its 
attention  to  the  principal  object  for  which  the  Convention  had 
assembled,  namely,  the  preparation  of  a  plan  of  constitution. 

*  Sec  Appendix  Q. 
VOL.    II.  •">•"> 


98  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

It  was  composed  of  nine  members,  celebrated  in  different 
ways,  and  almost  all  holding  the  sentiments  of  the  right  side. 
Philosophy  had  its  representatives  there  in  the  persons  of 
Sieves,  Condorcet,  and  Thomas  Paine,  the  American,  recently 
elected  a  French  citizen  and  a  member  of  the  National  Con- 
vention ;  the  Grironde  was  particularly  represented  by  Gensonne, 
Vergniaud,  Petion,  and  Brissot ;  the  centre  by  Barrere  ;  *  and 
the  Mountain  by  Danton.  The  reader  will  doubtless  be  sur- 
prised to  see  this  tribune  so  restless,  but  so  far  from  specula- 
tive, placed  in  a  committee  so  thoroughly  philosophical ;  and 
we  should  think  that  the  character  of  Robespierre,  if  not  his 
talents,  ought  to  have  gained  him  this  appointment.  It  is 
certain  that  Robespierre  coveted  this  distinction  much  more, 
and  that  he  was  severely  mortified  because  he  failed  to  obtain 
it.  It  was  conferred  in  preference  on  Danton,  whose  natural 
talents  fitted  him  for  anything,  and  whom  no  deep  resentment 
had  yet  separated  from  his  colleagues.  It  was  this  composition 
of  the  committee  that  so  long  delayed  the  completion  of  the 
plan  of  the  constitution. 

After  having  thus  provided  for  the  restoration  of  order  in 
the  capital,  for  the  organization  of  the  executive  power,  for  the 
formation  of  committees,  and  for  the  preparatives  of  the  con- 
stitution, there  was  yet  left  a  last  subject,  one  of  the  most 
serious  to  which  the  Assemblv  had  to  direct  its  attention — the 
fate  of  Louis  XVI.  and  his  family.  On  this  point  the  most 
profound  silence  had  been  observed  in  the  Assembly  :  it  was 
talked  of  everywhere,  at  the  Jacobins,  at  the  commune,  in  all 
places,  public  and  private,  with  the  single  exception  of  the 
Convention.  Some  emigrants  had  been  taken  in  arms  ;  and 
they  were  on  their  way  to  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  being  made 
amenable  to  the  criminal  laws.  On  this  subject  one  voice  was 
raised — and  this  was  the  first — and  inquired  if,  instead  of 
punishing  subaltern  culprits,  the  Assembly  did  not  intend  to 
think  of  the  more  exalted  ones  confined  in  the  Temple. f  At 
this  question  profound  silence  pervaded  the  Assembly.  Barba- 
roux  was  the  first  to  speak  ;  and  insisted,  that  before  it  should 

*  "  I  used  to  meet  Barrere  at  a  table-d'hote.  I  considered  him  of  a  mild  and 
amiable  temper.  He  was  very  well-bred,  and  seemed  to  love  the  Revolution 
from  a  sentiment  of  benevolence.  His  association  with  Robespierre,  and  the 
court  which  he  paid  to  the  different  parties  he  successively  joined  and  afterwards 
deserted,  were  less  the  effect  of  an  evil  disposition  than  of  a  timid  and  versatile 
character,  and  the  conceit  which  made  it  incumbent  on  him  to  appear  as  a  public 
man.  His  talents  as  an  orator  were  by  no  means  of  the  first  order.  He  was 
afterwards  surnamed  the  Anacreon  of  the  guillotine  ;  but  when  I  knew  him,  he 
was  only  the  Anacreon  of  the  Revolution,  upon  which  in  his  '  Point  du  Jour  '  he 
wrote  some  very  amorous  strains." — Dumont. 

+  See  Appendix  R. 


OCT.  1792         THE  FRENCH  HE  VOL  UTION.  9  9 

be  determined  whether  the  Convention  was  to  try  Louis  XVI., 
it  ought  to  be  decided  whether  the  Convention  should  be  a 
judicial  body,  for  it  had  other  culprits  to  try  besides  those  in 
the  Temple.  In  raising  this  question,  Barbaroux  alluded  to 
the  proposal  for  constituting  the  Convention  an  extraordinary 
court  for  trying  itself  the  agitators,  the  triumvirs,  &c.  After 
some  discussion,  the  proposition  was  referred  to  the  committee 
of  legislation,  that  it  might  examine  the  questions  to  which  it 
gave  rise. 

At  this  moment  the  military  situation  of  France  was  much 
changed.  It  was  nearly  the  middle  of  October.  The  enemy 
was  already  driven  out  of  Champagne  and  Flanders,  and  the 
foreign  territory  was  invaded  011  three  points,  the  Palatinate, 
Savoy,  and  the  county  of  Nice. 

We  have  seen  the  Prussians  retiring  from  the  camp  of  La 
Lime,  retreating  towards  the  Argonne,  strewing  the  defiles 
with  the  sick  and  the  dead,  and  escaping  total  destruction 
solely  through  the  negligence  of  our  generals,  who  severally 
pursued  the  enemy  with  a  different  object.  The  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Teschen  had  not  been  more  successful  in  his  attack  on  the 
Netherlands.  While  the  Prussians  were  marching  upon  the 
Argonne,  that  Prince  was  not  willing  to  be  left  behind,  and 
had  deemed  it  his  duty  to  attempt  some  brilliant  enterprise. 
Though,  however,  our  northern  frontier  had  not  been  put  into 
a  state  of  defence,  he  was  almost  as  destitute  of  means  as 
ourselves,  and  Lad  great  difficulty  in  collecting  a  scanty 
materiel  and  fifteen  thousand  men.  Then,  feigning  a  false 
attack  upon  our  whole  line  of  fortresses,  he  occasioned  the 
breaking  up  of  one  of  our  little  camps,  and  suddenly  moved 
Inwards  hi  lie.  to  attempt  a  siege  which  the  greatest  generals 
could  not  have  carried  on  without  powerful  armies  and  a 
considerable  maUriel. 

In  war.  nothing  but  the  possibility  of  success  can  justify 
cruel  enterprises.  The  Duke  was  only  able  to  approach  one 
point  of  the  fortress,  and  there  established  batteries  of  howit- 
zers, which  bombarded  it  for  six  successive  days,  and  burned 
more  than  two  hundred  houses.  It  is  said  that  the  Arch- 
duchess Christine  insisted  011  witnessing  this  horrible  scene. 
If  this  were  the  case,  she  could  not  witness  anything  but  the 
heroism  of  the  besieged,  and  the  nselessness  of  Austrian  bar- 
barity. The  people  of  Lille,  resisting  with  noble  obstinacy, 
would  not  consenl  to  surrender;  and  on  the  8th  of  October, 
while  the  Prussians  were  abandoning  the  Aignnne.  Duke 
Albert  was  obliged  to  quit  Lille.  General  Labourdonnais, 
arriving    from     Soissons,    and     Beurnonville,    returning    from 


ioo  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

Champagne,  forced  him  to  retreat  rapidly  from  our  frontiers, 
and  the  resistance  of  the  people  of  Lille,  published  throughout 
all  France,  served  to  increase  the  general  enthusiasm. 

Nearly  about  the  same  time  Custine  *  was  attempting  bold 
enterprises,  but  with  results  more  brilliant  than  solid,  in  the 
Palatinate.  Attached  to  Biron's  army,  which  was  encamped 
along  the  Rhine,  he  was  placed,  with  seventeen  thousand  men, 
at  some  distance  from  Spire.  The  grand  invading  army  had 
but  feebly  protected  its  rear  whilst  advancing  into  the  interior 
of  France.  Weak  detachments  covered  Spire,  Worms,  and 
Mayence.  Custine,  perceiving  this,  marched  for  Spire,  and 
entered  it  without  resistance  on  the  30th  of  September.  Em- 
boldened by  success,  he  penetrated  on  the  5th  of  October 
into  Worms,  without  encountering  any  greater  difficulties,  and 
obliged  a  garrison  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  men  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  He  then  took  Frankenthal,  and  immediately 
directed  his  attention  to  the  strong  fortress  of  Mayence,  which 
was  the  most  important  point  of  retreat  for  the  Prussians,  and 
in  which  they  had  been  so  imprudent  as  to  leave  but  a  mode- 
rate garrison.  Custine,  with  seventeen  thousand  men,  and 
destitute  of  maUricl,  could  not  attempt  a  siege  ;  but  he  re- 
solved to  try  a  coup  de  main.  The  ideas  which  had  roused 
France  were  agitating  all  Germany,  and  especially  those  cities 
which  had  universities.  Mayence  was  one  of  these,  and 
Custine  contrived  to  establish  a  correspondence  there.  He 
approached  the  walls,  withdrew  on  the  false  report  of  the 
arrival  of  an  Austrian  corps,  returned,  and  inaking  great 
movements,  deceived  the  enemy  as  to  the  strength  of  his 
army.  Deliberations  were  held  in  the  fortress.  The  design 
of  capitulation  was  strongly  supported  by  the  partisans  of  the 
French,  and  on  the  2 1  st  of  October  the  gates  were  opened  to 
Custine.  The  garrison  laid  down  its  arms,  with  the  exception 
of  eight  hundred  Austrians,  who  rejoined  the  grand  army. 
The  intelligence  of  these  brilliant  successes  spread  rapidly,  and 
caused  an  extraordinary  sensation.  They  had  certainly  cost 
but  little ;  at  the  same  time  they  were  far  less  meritorious 
than  the  firmness  of  the  people  of  Lille,  and  the  magnanimous 
coolness  displayed  at  St.  Menehould  ;  but  people  were  de- 
lighted with  the  transition  from  mere  resistance  to  conquest. 
Thus  far  all  would  have  been  right  on  Custine's  part,  if,  ap- 
preciating his  position,  he  had  possessed  the  skill  to  terminate 
the  campaign  by  a  movement  which  would  have  been  practi- 
cable and  decisive. 

*  See  Appendix  S. 


OCT.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1  o  1 

At  this  moment  the  three  armies  of  Dumouriez,  Kellermaim, 
and  Custine  were  by  the  most  fortunate  chance  so  placed  that 
they  might  have  destroyed  the  Prussians,  and  conquered  by 
a  single  march  the  whole  line  of  the  Rhine  to  the  sea.  If 
Dumouriez,  less  preoccupied  by  another  idea,  had  kept  Keller- 
maim  under  his  command,  and  pursued  the  Prussians  with  his 
eighty  thousand  men  ;  if.  at  the  same  time,  Custine,  descend- 
ing the  Rhine  from  Mayence  to  Coblentz,  had  fallen  upon 
their  rear,  they  must  infallibly  have  been  overpowered.  Then 
descending  the  Rhine  to  Holland,  they  might  have  taken  Duke 
Albert  in  the  rear,  and  obliged  him  either  to  lay  down  his 
arms,  or  to  fight  his  way  through  them,  and  the  whole  Nether- 
lands would  have  been  subdued.  Treves  and  Luxembourg*, 
comprised  within  the  line  which  we  have  described,  would  fall 
of  course.  All  would  be  France  as  far  as  the  Rhine,  and  the 
campaign  would  be  over  in  a  month.  Dumouriez  abounded  in 
genius,  but  his  ideas  had  taken  a  different  course.  Impatient 
to  return  to  Belgium,  he  thought  of  nothing  but  hastening 
thither  immediately,  to  relieve  Lille,  and  to  push  Duke  Albert 
in  front.  He  left  Kellermann,  therefore,  alone  to  pursue  the 
Prussians.  The  latter  general  might  still  have  marched  upon 
Coblentz,  passing  between  Luxembourg  and  Treves,  while 
( Justine  would  be  descending  from  Mayence.  But  Kellermann, 
who  was  not  enterprising,  had  not  sufficient  confidence  in  the 
capabilities  of  his  troops,  which  appeared  harassed,  and  put 
them  into  cantonments  around  Metz.  Custine,  on  his  part, 
desirous  of  rendering  himself  independent,  and  of  making 
brilliant  incursions,  had  no  inclination  to  join  Kellermann,  and 
to  confine  himself  within  the  limit  of  the  Rhine.  He  never 
thought,  therefore,  of  descending  to  Coblentz.  Thus  this 
admirable  plan  was  neglected,  so  ably  seized  and  developed 
by  the  greatest  of  our  military  historians.* 

Custine,  though  clever,  was  haughty,  passionate,  and  incon- 
sistent. His  chief  aim  was  to  make  himself  independent  of 
Biron  and  every  other  general,  and  he  entertained  the  idea  of 
conquering  around  him.  If  lie  were  to  take  Manheim.  he 
should  violate  the  neutrality  of  the  Elector-Palatine,  which  the 
executive  council  had  forbidden  him  to  do.  He  thought,  there- 
fore, "I'  abandoning  the  Rhine,  for  the  purpose  of  advancing 
into  Germany.  Frankfurt,  situated  on  the  Maine,  appeared 
to  him  a  prize  worth  seizing,  and  Ihiiher  he  resolved  to  pro- 
ceed. Nevertheless  tin's  free  commercial  city,  always  neutral 
in    the   different   wars,    and    favourably    disposed    towards   the 

*  Baron  Henri  Jomini. 


io2  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

French,  did  not  deserve  this  mischievous  preference.  Being 
defenceless,  it  was  easy  to  enter,  but  difficult  to  maintain  one's 
self  there,  and  consequently  it  was  useless  to  occupy  it.  This 
excursion  could  have  but  one  object,  that  of  levying  contribu- 
tions ;  and  there  was  no  justice  in  imposing  them  on  a  popu- 
lation habitually  neutral,  and  meriting  by  its  very  disposition 
the  goodwill  of  France,  whose  principles  it  approved,  and  to 
whom  it  wished  success.  Oustine  committed  the  fault  of 
entering  the  city.  This  was  on  the  27th  of  October.  He 
levied  contributions,  incensed  the  inhabitants,  whom  he  con- 
verted into  enemies  of  the  French,  and  ran  the  risk,  while 
proceeding  towards  the  Maine,  of  being  cut  off  from  the 
Rhine,  either  by  the  Prussians,  if  they  had  ascended  as  far  as 
Bingen.  or  by  the  Elector- Palatine,  if,  breaking  the  neutrality, 
he  had  issued  from  Manheim. 

The  tidings  of  these  incursions  into  the  enemy's  territory 
continued  to  excite  great  joy  in  France,  who  was  astonished  to 
find  herself  conquering  a  few  days  only  after  she  had  been 
afraid  of  being  conquered.  The  Prussians,  being  alarmed, 
threw  a  flying  bridge  across  the  Rhine,  for  the  purpose  of 
ascending  along  the  right  bank  and  driving  away  the  French. 
Fortunately  for  Custine  they  were  twelve  days  in  crossing  the 
river.  Discouragement,  disease,  and  the  separation  of  the 
Austrians,  had  reduced  that  army  to  fifty  thousand  men. 
Clairfayt,  with  his  eighteen  thousand  Austrians,  had  followed 
the  general  movement  of  our  troops  towards  Flanders,  and  was 
proceeding  to  the  aid  of  Duke  Albert.  The  corps  of  emigrants 
had  been  disbanded,  and  the  brilliant  soldiery  which  composed 
it  had  either  joined  the  corps  of  Conde  or  passed  into  foreign 
service. 

During  these  occurrences  on  the  frontier  of  the  North  and 
of  the  Rhine,  we  were  gaining  other  advantages  on  the  frontier 
of  the  Alps.  Montesquiou,  who  commanded  the  army  of  the 
South,  invaded  Savoy,  and  detached  one  of  his  officers  to 
occupy  the  county  of  Nice.  This  general,  who  had  displayed 
in  the  Constituent  Assembly  all  the  abilities  of  a  statesman, 
and  who  had  not  had  time  to  exhibit  the  qualities  of  a  military 
commander,  which  he  is  asserted  to  have  possessed,  had  been 
summoned  to  the  bar  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  to  account 
for  his  conduct,  which  had  been  deemed  too  dilatory.  He 
had  found  means  to  convince  his  accusers  that  the  want  of 
means  and  not  of  zeal  was  the  cause  of  his  tardiness,  and  had 
returned  to  the  Alps.  He  belonged,  however,  to  the  first 
revolutionary  generation,  and  this  was  incompatible  with  the 
new  one.     Again  he  was  sent  for,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  103 

being  stripped  of  his  command  when  news  arrived  that  he 
had  entered  Savoy.  His  dismissal  was  then  suspended,  and 
he  was  left  to  continue  his  conquest. 

According  to  the  plan  conceived  by  Dumouriez,  when  as 
minister  for  foreign  affairs  he  superintended  the  departments 
both  of  diplomacy  and  war.  France  was  to  push  her  armies 
to  her  natural  frontiers,  the  Ehine,  and  the  lofty  chain  of  the 
Alps.  To  this  end  it  was  necessary  to  conquer  Belgium, 
Savoy,  and  Nice.  France  had  thus  the  advantage,  in  con- 
fining herself  to  natural  principles,  of  despoiling  only  the  two 
enemies  with  whom  she.  was  at  war,  the  house  of  Austria  and 
the  Court  of  Turin.  It  was  this  plan,  which  failed  in  April  in 
Belgium,  and  was  deferred  till  now  in  Savoy,  of  which  Montes- 
quiou  was  about  to  execute  his  portion.  He  gave  a  division  to 
General  Anselme.  with  orders  to  pass  the  Var,  and  to  proceed 
for  Nice  upon  a  given  signal :  he  himself,  with  the  greater 
part  of  his  army,  advanced  from  Grenoble  upon  Chambery  ; 
he  caused  the  Sardinian  troops  to  be  threatened  by  St.  Genies, 
and  marching  himself  from  the  fort  Barraux  upon  Mont- 
Melian.  he  succeeded  in  dividing  and  driving  them  back  into 
the  valleys.  While  his  lieutenants  were  pursuing  them,  he 
advanced  upon  Chambery,  on  the  28th  of  September,  and 
made  his  triumphal  entry  into  that  city,  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  who  loved  liberty  like  true  sons  of  the 
mountains,  and  France  like  men  speaking  the  same  language, 
having  the  same  manners,  and  belonging  to  the  same  basin. 
He  immediately  convoked  an  assembly  of  Savoyards,  for  the 
purpose  of  deliberating  upon  a  question  which  could  not  be 
doubtful — the  union  of  Savoy  with  France. 

At  the  same  moment,  Anselme,  reinforced  by  six  thousand 
Marseillais.  whom  he  had  demanded  as  auxiliaries,  had  ap- 
proached the  Var,  an  unequal  torrent,  like  all  those  which 
descend  from  lofty  mountains,  alternately  swollen  and  dry,  and 
incapable  even  of  receiving  a  permanent  bridge.  Anselme 
boldly  crossed  the  Var,  and  occupied  Nice,  which  the  Count 
St.  Andre  had  just  abandoned,  and  which  the  magistrates  had 
pressed  him  to  cuter,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  the  excesses  of 
the  populace,  who  were  committing  frightful  depredations.  The 
Sardinian  troops  retired  towards  the  upper  valleys.  Anselme 
pursued  them ;  but  he  halted  before  a  formidable  post,  that  of 
Saorgio,  from  which  he  could  not  drive  the  Piedmontese. 

Meanwhile  the  squadron  of  Admiral  Truguet,  combining 
its  movements  with  those  of  General  Anselme,  had  obtained 
the  surrender  of  Yillafranca,  and  borne  away  for  the  little 
principality  of  Oneglia.     A  great  number  of  privateers  were 


1 04  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  oct.  1792 

accustomed  to  take  refuge  in  that  port,  and  for  this  reason  it 
would  be  of  service  to  reduce  it.  But  while  a  French  boat 
was  advancing  to  parley,  the  right  of  nations  was  violated,  and 
several  men  were  killed  by  a  general  discharge.  The  admiral, 
laying  his  ships  athwart  the  harbour,  poured  upon  it  an  over- 
whelming fire,  and  then  landed  some  troops,  which  sacked  the 
town,  and  made  a  great  carnage  among  the  monks,  who  were 
very  numerous  there,  and  who  were  said  to  be  the  instigators 
of  this  act  of  treachery.  Such  is  the  rigour  of  military  law, 
which  was  inflicted  without  mercy  011  the  unfortunate  town  of 
Oneglia.  After  this  expedition  the  French  squadron  returned 
off  Nice,  where  Anselme,  separated  by  the  swelling  of  the  Var 
from  the  rest  of  his  army,  was  in  a  dangerous  predicament. 
By  carefully  guarding  himself,  however,  against  the  post  of 
Saorgio.  and  by  treating  the  inhabitants  better  than  he  had 
done,*  he  rendered  his  position  tenable,  and  was  enabled  to 
retain  his  conquest. 

Montesquiou  was  meanwhile  advancing  from  Chambery  to- 
wards Geneva,  and  was  likely  soon  to  find  himself  in  presence 
of  Switzerland,  which  entertained  extremely  adverse  feelings 
towards  the  French,  and  pretended  to  discover  in  the  invasion 
of  Savoy  a  danger  to  its  neutrality. 

The  sentiments  of  the  cantons  in  regard  to  us  were  widely 
different.  All  the  aristocratic  republics  condemned  our  Revolu- 
tion. Berne,  in  particular,  and  its  avoyer,  Stinger,  held  it  in 
profound  detestation  ;  and  the  more  so,  because  it  furnished 
a  subject  of  high  gratification  to  the  oppressed  Pays  de  Vaud. 
The  Helvetic  aristocracy,  excited  by  Stinger  and  the  English 
ambassador,  called  for  war  against  us,  and  laid  great  stress 
on  the  massacre  of  the  Swiss  guards  on  the  10th  of  August, 
the  disarming  of  a  regiment  at  Aix,  and  lastly,  the  occupation 
of  the  gorges  of  Porentruy,  which  belonged  to  the  bishopric 
of  Basle,  and  which  Biron  had  caused  to  be  occupied  for  the 
purpose  of  closing  the  Jura.  The  moderate  party  neverthe- 
less gained  the  ascendency,  and  an  armed  neutrality  was 
determined  upon.  The  canton  of  Berne,  still  more  irritated 
and  distrustful,  sent  a  corps  (Tarmie  to  Nyon,  and  under  the 
pretext  of  an  application  from  the  magistrates  of  Geneva, 
placed  a  garrison  in  that  city. 

According  to  ancient  treaties,   Geneva,   in  case   of    a    war 

*  "The  republicans  made  a  cruel  use  of  their  victory.  The  inhabitants  of 
Nice  and  the  neighbouring  country  were  rewarded  for  the  friendly  reception  they 
had  given  them  by  plunder  and  outrages  of  every  description.  A  proclamation 
issued  by  General  Anselme  against  these  excesses  met  with  no  sort  of  attention ; 
and  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Convention  to  inquire  into  the  disorders 
were  unable  to  make  any  effectual  reparation." — Alison. 


OCT.  1792         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  o  5 

between  France  and  Savoy,  was  not  to  receive  a  garrison 
from  either  power.  Our  envoy  immediately  quitted  the  place, 
and  the  executive  council,  instigated  by  Clavieres,  who  had 
formerly  been  banished  from  Geneva,  and  was  jealous  of 
introducing  the  Eevolution  there,  ordered  Montesquiou  to 
enforce  the  execution  of  the  treaties.  He  was  instructed, 
moreover,  to  put  a  garrison  into  the  place,  that  is  to  say,  to 
commit  the  same  fault  with  which  the  Bernese  were  re- 
proached. Montesquiou,  sensible,  in  the  first  place,  that  he 
had  not  at  the  moment  the  means  of  taking  Geneva,  and 
in  the  next,  that  by  violating  the  neutrality  and  involving 
himself  in  a  war  with  Switzerland,  he  would  throw  open  the 
east  of  France  and  expose  the  right  flank  of  our  defensive, 
resolved,  on  the  one  hand,  to  intimidate  Geneva,  while,  on 
the  other,  he  would  endeavour  to  make  the  executive  council 
listen  to  reason.  He  therefore  loudly  insisted  on  the  departure 
of  the  Bernese  troops,  and  strove  to  persuade  the  French 
ministry  that  this  was  all  that  could  be  required.  His  design 
was.  in  case  of  extremity,  to  bombard  Geneva,  and  to  proceed 
by  a  bold  march  towards  the  canton  of  Yaud,  for  the  purpose 
of  producing  a  revolution.  Geneva  consented  to  the  departure 
of  the  Bernese  troops,  on  condition  that  Montesquiou  should 
retire  to  the  distance  of  ten  leagues,  which  he  immediately 
did.  This  concession,  however,  was  censured  at  Paris  ;  and 
Montesquiou,  posted  at  Carouge,  where  he  was  surrounded 
by  (lenevese  exiles,  who  were  desirous  of  returning  to  their 
country,  was  worried  between  the  fear  of  embroiling  France 
with  Switzerland,  and  the  fear  of  disobeying  the  executive 
council,  which  was  incapable  of  appreciating  the  soundest 
military  and  political  views.  This  negotiation,  prolonged  by 
the  distance  of  the  places,  was  not  yet  brought  near  to  a 
close,  though  it  was  the  end  of  October. 

Such  then  was  the  state  of  our  arms  in  October  1792,  from 
Dunkirk  to  Basle,  and  from  Basle  to  Nice.  The  frontier  of 
Champagne  was  delivered  from  the  grand  invasion  ;  the  troops 
were  proceeding  from  that  province  towards  Flanders,  to  re- 
lieve Lille  and  to  invade  Belgium.      Kellermann  took  up  his 


.-■ 


quarters  in  Lorraine.  Custine,  escaped  from  the  control  of 
Biron,  master  of  Mayence.  and  marching  imprudently  into 
the  Palatinate  and  to  the  Maine,  rejoiced  France  by  his  con- 
quests, affrighted  Germany,  and  indiscreetly  exposed  himself 
to  the  risk  of  being  cut  off  by  Hie  Prussians,  who  were  ascend- 
ing the  Rhine,  in  sick  and  beaten  but  numerous  bodies,  and 
still  capable  of  overwhelming  the  little  French  army.  Biron 
was   still   encamped    along   t]u.    Rhine.     Montesquiou,   master 


io6  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

of  Savoy,  in  consequence  of  the  retreat  of  the  Piedmontese 
beyond  the  Alps,  and  secured  from  fresh  attacks  by  the  snow, 
had  to  decide  the  question  of  Swiss  neutrality  either  by  arms 
or  by  negotiations.  Lastly,  Anselme,  master  of  Nice,  and  sup- 
ported by  a  squadron,  was  enabled  to  resist  in  his  position, 
in  spite  of  the  swelling  of  the  Var,  and  of  the  Piedmontese 
collected  above  him  at  the  post  of  Saorgio. 

While  the  war  was  about  to  be  transferred  from  Champagne 
to  Belgium,  Dumouriez  had  solicited  permission  to  go  to  Paris 
for  two  or  three  days  only,  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  with 
the  ministers  the  invasion  of  the  Netherlands,  and  the  general 
plan  of  all  the  military  operations.  His  enemies  reported  that 
he  was  coming  to  gain  applause,  and  that  he  was  leaving  the 
duties  of  his  command  for  the  sake  of  a  frivolous  gratification 
of  vanity.  These  reproaches  were  exaggerated,  for  Dumouriez's 
command  suffered  nothing  by  his  absence,  and  mere  marches 
of  troops  could  be  performed  without  him.  His  presence,  on 
the  contrary,  was  likely  to  be  very  useful  to  the  council  for 
the  determination  of  a  general  plan  ;  and  besides,  he  might 
be  forgiven  an  impatience  of  glory,  so  general  among  men, 
and  so  excusable  when  it  does  not  interfere  with  duties. 

He  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  nth  of  October.  His  situation 
was  perplexing,  for  he  could  not  stand  well  with  either  of  the 
two  parties.  He  disliked  the  violence  of  the  Jacobins,  and  he 
had  broken  with  the  Girondins  by  expelling  them  a  few  months 
before  from  the  ministry.  Very  favourably  received,  however, 
throughout  all  Champagne,  he  was  still  more  warmly  welcomed 
in  Paris,  especially  by  the  ministers  and  by  Roland  himself, 
who  discarded  all  personal  resentments  when  the  public  welfare 
was  at  stake.  He  presented  himself  before  the  Convention  on 
the  12th.  No  sooner  was  he  announced  than  mingled  accla- 
mations and  applause  arose  on  all  sides.  In  a  simple,  energetic 
speech,  he  gave  a  brief  sketch  of  the  whole  campaign  of  the 
Argonne,  and  bestowed  the  highest  commendations  on  his 
troops,  and  on  Kellermann  himself.  His  staff  then  brought 
forward  a  standard  taken  from  the  emigrants,  and  offered  it  to 
the  Assembly  as  a  monument  of  the  vanity  of  their  projects. 
Immediately  afterwards  the  deputies  hastened  to  surround 
him,  and  the  sitting  was  closed,  in  order  to  afford  free  scope 
for  their  congratulations.  It  was  more  especially  the  numerous 
deputies  of  the  Plain,  the  impartials,  as  they  were  termed, 
who,  having  neither  rupture  nor  revolutionary  indifference  to 
lay  to  his  charge,  gave  him  the  warmest  and  most  cordial 
welcome.  The  Girondins  were  not  behindhand ;  yet,  whether 
it  was  their  fault  or  his,  the  reconciliation  was  not  complete, 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  o  7 

and  a  lurking  relic  of  coolness  was  perceptible  between  them. 
The  Mountaineers,  who  had  reproached  him  with  a  momentary 
attachment  to  Louis  XVI.,  and  who  found  him.  in  his  manners, 
his  merit,  and  his  elevation,  already  too  like  the  Girondins, 
grudged  him  the  testimonies  paid  to  him  in  that  quarter,  and 
supposed  these  testimonies  to  be  more  significant  than  they 
really  were. 

After  the  Convention  he  had  yet  to  visit  the  Jacobins,  and 
this  power  had  then  become  so  imposing  that  the  victorious 
general  could  not  omit  paying  them  his  homage.  It  was  there 
that  opinion  in  fermentation  formed  all  its  plans  and  issued 
all  its  decrees.  If  an  important  law,  a  high  political  question, 
a  great  revolutionary  measure,  was  to  be  brought  forward,  the 
Jacobins,  always  more  prompt,  hastened  to  open  the  discus- 
sion and  to  give  their  opinion.  Immediately  afterwards  they 
thronged  to  the  commune  and  to  the  sections  ;  they  wrote  to 
all  the  affiliated  clubs  ;  and  the  opinion  which  they  had  ex- 
pressed, the  wish  which  they  had  conceived,  returned  in  the 
form  of  addresses  from  every  part  of  France,  and  in  the  form 
of  armed  petitions  from  all  the  quarters  of  Paris.  When  in 
the  municipal  councils,  in  the  sections,  and  in  all  the  assemblies 
invested  with  any  authority  whatever,  there  was  still  some 
hesitation  on  a  question,  from  a  last  respect  for  legality,  the 
Jacobins.  who  esteemed  themselves  free  as  thought,  boldly  cut 
the  knot,  and  every  insurrection  was  proposed  among  them 
long  beforehand.  They  had  for  a  whole  month  deliberated  on 
that  of  the  10th  of  August.  Besides  this  initiative  in  every 
question,  they  had  arrogated  to  themselves  an  inexorable 
inquisition  into  all  the  details  of  the  government.  If  a 
minister,  the  head  of  a  public  office,  a  contractor,  were  accused, 
commissioners  sent  by  the  Jacobins  went  to  the  offices  and 
demanded  exact  accounts,  which  were  delivered  to  them  with- 
out haughtiness,  without  disdain,  and  without  impatience. 
Every  citizen  who  had  to  complain  of  any  act  whatever  had 
only  to  apply  to  the  society,  and  officious  advocates  were  ap- 
pointed to  obtain  justice  for  him.  One  day  perhaps  soldiers 
would  complain  of  their  officers,  workmen  of  their  employers; 
the  next,  an  actress  might  he  seen  demanding  justice  against 
her  manager;  nay.  once  a  -Jacobin  came  to  demand  reparation 
for  adultery  committed  with  his  wife  by  one  of  his  colleagues. 

Every  one  was  anxious  to  have  his  name  entered  in  the 
register  of  the  society,  in  order  to  attesl  his  patriotic  zeal. 
Almost  all  the  deputies  who  had  recently  arrived  in  Paris  had 
hastened  to  present  themselves  at  the  Jacobins  for  that  pur- 
pose;  there    had    been    counted    one    hundred    and    thirteen    of 


io8  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

them  in  one  week,  and  even  such  as  never  meant  to  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  club  nevertheless  applied  for  admission. 
The  affiliated  societies  wrote  from  the  extremities  of  the 
provinces,  inquiring  if  the  deputies  of  their  departments  had 
got  themselves  enrolled,  and  if  they  were  assiduous  members. 
The  wealthy  of  the  capital  strove  to  gain  pardon  for  their 
wealth  by  going  to  the  Jacobins  to  put  on  the  red  cap,  and 
their  equipages  blocked  up  the  entrance  to  that  abode  of 
equality.  While  the  hall  was  filled  with  its  numerous  members, 
and  the  tribunes  were  crowded  with  people,  an  immense  con- 
course, mingled  with  carriages,  waited  at  the  door,  and  with 
loud  shouts  demanded  admission.  Sometimes  this  multitude 
became  irritated  when  rain,  so  common  under  the  sky  of 
Paris,  aggravated  the  wearisomeness  of  waiting,  and  then  some 
member  demanded  the  admission  of  the  good  people  who  were 
suffering  at  the  doors  of  the  hall.  Marat  had  frequently 
claimed  this  privilege  on  such  occasions  ;  and  when  the  ad- 
mission was  granted,  sometimes  even  before,  an  immense 
multitude  of  both  sexes  poured  in  and  mingled  with  the 
members. 

It  was  in  the  evening  that  they  met.  Anger,  excited  and 
repressed  in  the  Convention,  here  vented  itself  in  a  free 
explosion.  Night,  the  multitude  of  auditors,  all  contributed 
to  heat  the  imagination.  The  sitting  was  frequently  prolonged 
till  it  degenerated  into  a  tremendous  tumult,  and  there  the 
agitators  gathered  courage  for  the  most  audacious  attempts  on 
the  following  day.  Still  this  society,  so  imbued  with  a  dema- 
gogue spirit,  was  not  what  it  subsequently  became.  The 
equipages  of  those  who  came  to  abjure  the  inequality  of  con- 
ditions were  still  suffered  to  wait  at  the  door.  Some  members 
had  made  ineffectual  attempts  to  speak  with  their  hats  on,  but 
they  had  been  obliged  to  uncover  themselves.  Brissot,  it  is 
true,  had  just  been  excluded  by  a  solemn  decision  ;  but  Petion 
continued  to  preside  there  amidst  applause.  Chabot,  Collot- 
d'Herbois,  and  Fabre-d'Eglantine  were  the  favourite  speakers. 
Marat  still  appeared  strange  there,  and  Chabot  observed,  in 
the  language  of  the  place,  that  Marat  was  "  a  hedgehog  which 
could  not  be  laid  hold  of  anywhere." 

Dumouriez  was  received  by  Danton,  who  presided  at  the 
sitting.  He  was  greeted  with  numerous  plaudits,  and  the 
sight  of  him  gained  forgiveness  for  the  supposed  friendship 
of  the  Girondins.  He  made  a  short  speech  appropriate  to  his 
situation,  and  promised  to  march  before  the  end  of  the  month  at 
the  head  of  sixty  thousand  men,  to  attack  Idngs  and  to  save  the 
people  from  tyranny. 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 09 

Danton,  replying  in  similar  style,  said  that,  in  rallying  the 
French  at  the  camp  of  St.  Menehould,  he  had  deserved  well  of 
the  country,  but  that  a  new  career  was  opening  for  him  ;  that 
he  must  now  make  crowns  fall  before  the  red  cap  with  which 
the  society  had  honoured  him,  and  that  his  name  would  then 
shine  among  the  most  glorious  names  of  France.  Collot- 
d'Herbois  then  addressed  him  in  a  speech  which  shows  both 
the  language  of  that  period  and  the  feelings  of  the  moment  in 
regard  to  the  general. 

"It  was  not  a  king  who  appointed  thee,  0  Dumouriez;  it 
was  thy  fellow-citizens.  Bear  in  mind  that  a  general  of  the 
republic  ought  to  serve  none  but  the  republic.  Thou  hast 
heard  of  Themistocles  :  he  had  just  saved  Greece  at  Salamis  ; 
but  calumniated  by  his  enemies,  he  was  forced  to  seek  an 
asylum  among  tyrants.  They  wanted  him  to  serve  against  his 
country.  His  only  answer  was  to  plunge  his  sword  into  his 
heart.  Dumouriez,  thou  hast  enemies  ;  thou  wilt  be  calum- 
niated :  remember  Themistocles ! 

"  Enslaved  nations  are  awaiting  thy  assistance.  Thou  wilt 
soon  set  them  free.  What  a  glorious  mission  !  .  .  .  Thou 
must  nevertheless  guard  thyself  against  any  excess  of  gene- 
rosity towards  thine  enemies.  Thou  least  conducted  back  the 
King  of  Prussia  rather  too  much  in  the  French,  manner.  But 
Austria,  we  hope,  will  pay  doubly. 

"  Thou  art  going  to  Brussels,  Dumouriez.  ...  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  thee.  ...  If,  however,  thou  shouldst  there 
find  an  execrable  woman  who  came  beneath  the  walls  of  Lille 
to  feast  her  ferocity  with  the  sight  of  red-hot  balls  !  .  .  .  But 
no,  that  woman  will  not  wait  for  thy  coming. 

"  At  Brussels  liberty  will  again  spring  up  under  thy  feet. 
Citizens,  maidens,  matrons,  children,  will  throng  around  thee 
— oh.  what  happiness  art  thou  about  to  enjoy,  Dumouriez  !  My 
wife  is  from  Brussels  ;  she,  too,  will  embrace  thee  !  "  * 

Danton  then  retired  with  Dumouriez,  whom  he  seized  upon, 
and  to  whom  he  did,  as  it  were,  the  honours  of  the  new  re- 
public. Danton  having  shown  at  Paris  as  firm  a  countenance 
as  Dumouriez  at  St.  Menehould,  they  were  regarded  as  the 
two  saviours  of  the  Revolution,  and  they  were  applauded 
together  at  all  the  public  places  where  they  made  their  ap- 
pearance. A  certain  instinct  drew  these  two  men  towards  one 
another,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  their  habits.  They 
were  the  rakes  of  the  two  systems,  who  united  with  the  like 
genius  the  like  love  of  pleasure,  but  with  a  diil'erent  sort  of 

*  See  Appendix  T. 


no  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

corruption.  Danton  had  that  of  the  people,  Dumouriez  that 
of  Courts ;  but  more  lucky  than  his  colleague,  the  latter  had 
only  served  generously  and  sword  in  hand,  while  Danton 
had  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  sully  a  great  character  by  the 
atrocities  of  September. 

Those  brilliant  salons  where  the  celebrated  men  of  former 
days  enjoyed  their  glory  ;  where,  during  the  whole  of  the  last 
century,  Voltaire,  Diderot,  d'Alembert,  Eousseau,  had  been 
listened  to  and  applauded — those  salons  no  longer  existed. 
There  was  left  the  simple  and  select  society  of  Madame  Koland, 
which  brought  together  all  the  Girondins,  the  handsome  Bar- 
baroux,  the  clever  Louvet,  the  grave  Buzot,  the  brilliant 
Guadet,  the  persuasive  Vergniaud,  and  where  still  a  pure 
language  prevailed,  conversations  replete  with  interest,  and 
elegant  and  polished  manners.  The  ministers  met  there  twice 
a  week,  and  dined  together  off  a  single  course.  Such  was  the 
new  republican  society,  which  joined  to  the  graces  of  old 
France  the  gravity  of  the  new,  and  which  was  so  soon  to  be 
swept  away  by  demagogue  coarseness. 

Dumouriez  attended  one  of  these  simple  repasts,  felt  an 
unpleasant  sensation  at  first  in  the  presence  of  those  former 
friends  whom  he  had  driven  from  the  ministry,  and  of  that 
woman  who  appeared  to  him  too  austere,  and  to  whom  he 
appeared  too  licentious ;  but  he  supported  this  situation  with 
his  accustomed  spirit,  and  was  touched  in  particular  by  the 
sincere  cordiality  of  Roland.  Besides  the  society  of  the 
Girondins,  that  of  the  artists  was  the  only  one  which  had 
survived  the  dispersion  of  the  ancient  aristocracy.  Almost  all 
the  artists  had  warmly  embraced  a  Revolution  which  avenged 
them  of  high-born  disdain,  and  promised  favour  to  genius 
alone.  They  welcomed  Dumouriez,  in  their  turn,  and  gave 
him  an  entertainment  at  which  all  the  talents  that  the  capital 
contained  were  assembled.  But  in  the  very  midst  of  this 
entertainment  a  strange  scene  occurred  to  interrupt  it,  and 
to  produce  as  much  disgust  as  surprise. 

Marat,  ever  prompt  to  outstrip  revolutionary  suspicions,  was 
not  satisfied  with  the  general.  The  merciless  denouncer  of  all 
those  who  enjoyed  the  public  favour,  he  had  always  antici- 
pated by  his  disgusting  invectives  the  disgrace  incurred  by 
the  popular  leaders.  Mirabeau,  Bailly,  Lafayette,  Petion,  the 
Girondins,  had  been  assailed  by  his  abuse  while  yet  in  the 
possession  of  all  their  popularity.  Since  the  10th  of  August 
in  particular,  he  had  indulged  all  the  extravagances  of  his 
mind  ;  and  though  revolting  to  upright  and  reasonable  men, 
and  strange  at  least  to  hot-headed  Revolutionists,  he  had  been 


OCT.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  1  1  1 

encouraged  by  success.  He  failed  not,  therefore,  to  consider 
himself  as  in  some  measure  a  public  man.  essential  to  the  new 
order  of  things.  He  spent  part  of  his  time  in  collecting 
reports,  in  circulating  them  in  his  paper,  and  in  visiting  the 
bureaux  for  the  purpose  of  redressing  the  wrongs  committed 
by  administrators  against  the  people.  Communicating  to  the 
public  the  particulars  of  his  life,  he  declared  in  one  of  his 
numbers  *  that  his  avocations  were  overwhelming,  that  out  of 
his  twenty-four  hours  in  the  day  he  allowed  but  two  for  sleep, 
and  one  only  to  the  table  and  to  his  domestic  concerns  ;  that 
besides  the  hours  devoted  to  his  duty  as  a  deputy,  he  regu- 
larly spent  six  in  collecting  the  complaints  of  a  multitude 
of  unfortunate  and  oppressed  persons,  and  in  endeavouring  to 
obtain  redress  for  them  ;  that  he  passed  the  remaining  hours 
in  reading  and  answering  a  multitude  of  letters,  in  writing 
his  observations  on  public  events,  in  receiving  denunciations, 
in  ascertaining  the  veracity  of  the  denouncers,  lastly,  in  editing 
his  paper,  and  superintending  the  printing  of  a  great  work. 
For  three  years,  he  said,  he  had  not  taken  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  recreation  ;  and  it  makes  one  shudder  to  think  what  so 
inordinate  a  mind,  coupled  with  such  unceasing  activity,  is 
capable  of  producing  in  a  revolution. 

Marat  pretended  to  discover  in  Dumouriez  nothing  but  an 
aristocrat  of  dissolute  manners,  who  was  not  to  be  trusted. 
As  an  addition  to  his  motives,  he  had  been  informed  that 
Dumouriez  had  recently  proceeded  with  the  utmost  severity 
against  two  battalions  of  volunteers  who  had  slaughtered 
some  emigrant  deserters.  Kepairing  immediately  to  the 
•Jacobins,  he  denounced  the  general  in  their  tribune,  and 
asked  for  two  commissioners  to  go  with  him  and  question 
him  concerning  his  conduct.  Montaut  and  Bentabolle  were 
instantly  appointed,  and  away  he  went  with  them.  Dumouriez 
was  not  at  home.  Marat  hurried  to  the  different  theatres, 
and  at  length  learned  that  Dumouriez  was  attending  an 
entertainment  given  to  him  by  the  artists  at  the  house  of 
Mademoiselle  Candeille,  a  celebrated  woman  of  that  day. 
Marat  scrupled  not  to  proceed  thither,  notwithstanding  his 
disgusting  costume.  The  carriages,  the  detachments  of  the 
national  guard,  which  he  found  at  the  door  of  the  house 
where  the  dinner  was  given,  the  presence  of  Santerre,  the 
commandant,  and  of  a  great  number  of  deputies,  and  Hie 
arrangements  of  the  entertainment,  excited  his  spleen,  lie 
boldly   went  forward   and   asked   for   Dumouriez.     A    soil    of 

*  Journal  de  la  litpulliquc  Franmisc,  No.  93,  Jan.  9,  1793. 


ii2  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

murmur  arose  at  his  approach.  The  mention  of  his  name 
caused  the  disappearance  of  a  number  of  faces,  which,  he 
said,  could  not  endure  his  accusing  looks.  Proceeding  straight 
forward  to  Dumouriez,  he  loudly  accosted  him,  and  demanded 
an  explanation  of  his  treatment  of  the  two  battalions.  The 
general  eyed  him,  and  then  said  with  a  contemptuous 
curiosity,  "Aha!  so  you  are  the  man  they  call  Marat!" 
He  then  surveyed  him  again  from  head  to  foot,  and  turned 
his  back  upon  him  without  saying  another  word.  As,  how- 
ever, the  Jacobins  who  accompanied  Marat  appeared  milder 
and  more  respectable,  Dumouriez  gave  them  some  explana- 
tions, and  sent  them  away  satisfied.  Marat,  who  was  far 
from  being  so,  made  a  great  noise  in  the  ante-rooms ;  abused 
Santerre,  who,  he  said,  acted  the  part  of  lackey  to  the  general ; 
inveighed  against  the  national  guard,  which  contributed  to 
the  splendour  of  the  entertainment ;  and  retired,  threatening 
vengeance  against  all  the  aristocrats  composing  the  assembly. 
He  instantly  hastened  to  describe  in  his  journal  this  ridiculous 
scene,  which  so  correctly  delineates  the  situation  of  Dumouriez, 
the  fury  of  Marat,  and  the  manners  of  that  period.* 

Dumouriez  had  spent  four  days  at  Paris,  and  during  that 
time  he  had  not  been  able  to  come  to  a  good  understanding 
with  the  Girondins,  though  he  had  among  them  an  intimate 
friend  in  the  person  of  Gensonne.  He  had  merely  advised 
the  latter  to  reconcile  himself  with  Danton,  as  with  the  most 
powerful  man.  and  the  one  who,  notwithstanding  his  vices, 
might  become  most  serviceable  to  the  well-meaning.  •  Neither 
was  Dumouriez  on  better  terms  with  the  Jacobins,  with  whom 
he  was  disgusted,  and  to  whom  he  was  an  object  of  suspicion, 
on  account  of  his  supposed  friendship  with  the  Girondins. 
His  visit  to  Paris  had  therefore  not  served  him  much  with 
either  of  the  parties  ;  but  it  had  proved  more  beneficial  to  him 
in  a  military  respect. 

According  to  his  custom,  he  had  drawn  up  a  general  plan, 
which  had  been  adopted  by  the  executive  council.  Agreeably 
to  this  plan,  Montesquiou  f  was  to  maintain  his  position  along 
the  Alps,  and  to  secure  the  great  chain  as  a  boundary  by 
completing  the  conquest  of  Nice,  and  striving  to  keep  up 
the  neutrality  of   Switzerland.     Biron  was   to   be  reinforced, 

*  See  Appendix  U. 

t  "Montesquiou  wrote,  in  1798,  a  work  entitled  'On  the  Administration  of 
Finance  in  a  Republic,'  which  shows  a  true  zeal  for  the  government  under  which 
he  lived,  and  a  degree  of  talent  well  calculated  to  serve  it.  Never  was  lie  heard 
to  utter  a  word  that  could  betray  the  faintest  regret  for  his  station  before  the 
Revolution  ;  and  yet  he  was  perhaps  one  of  those  who  had  lost  by  it  most  power, 
most  honours,  and  most  wealth." — Reederer. 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  113 

in  order  to  guard  the  Rhine  from  Basle  to  Landau.*  A  corps 
of  twelve  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  General 
Meusnier,  was  destined  to  move  to  the  rear  of  Custine,  in 
order  to  cover  his  communications.  Kellermann  had  orders 
to  leave  his  quarters,  to  pass  rapidly  between  Luxembourg  and 
Treves,  to  hasten  to  Coblentz,  and  thus  to  do  what  he  had 
already  been  advised,  and  what  he  and  Custine  had  so  long- 
neglected  to  do.  Then  taking  the  offensive  with  eighty 
thousand  men.  Dumouriez  was  to  complete  the  French  terri- 
tory by  the  projected  accpiisition  of  Belgium.  Keeping  thus 
the  defensive  on  all  the  frontiers  protected  by  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  the  French  would  boldly  attack  only  on  the  open 
frontier,  that  of  the  Netherlands,  where,  according  to  the 
expression  of  Dumouriez,  a  man  could  defend  himself  only  by 
gaining  battles. 

He  obtained,  by  means  of  Santerre,  compliance  with  his 
suggestions,  that  the  absurd  idea  of  a  camp  near  Paris  should 
be  relinquished  ;  that  the  men,  artillery,  ammunition,  pro- 
visions, and  necessaries  for  encamping  collected  there,  should 
be  despatched  to  Flanders  for  the  use  of  his  army,  which  was 
in  want  of  everything ;  that  to  these  should  be  added  shoes, 
great-coats,  and  six  millions  in  cash  to  supply  the  soldiers 
with  ready  money,  till  they  should  enter  the  Netherlands, 
after  which  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  provide  for  himself.  He 
set  out.  about  the  16th  of  October,  with  somewhat  different 
notions  of  what  is  called  public  gratitude,  on  rather  worse 
terms  with  the  parties  than  before,  and  at  the  utmost,  in- 
demnified for  his  journey  by  certain  military  arrangements 
made  with  the  executive  council. 

During  this  interval  the  Convention  had  continued  to  act 
against  the  commune,  by  urging  its  renewal,  and  closely  watch- 
ing all  its  proceedings.  Petion  had  been  elected  mayor  by  a 
majority  of  13,899  votes,  while  Robespierre  had  obtained  but 
twenty-three,  Billaud-Varennes  fourteen,  Panis  eighty,  ami 
Danton  eleven.  The  popularity  of  Robespierre  and  Petion 
musl  not.  however,  be  measured  according  to  this  difference 
in  the  number  of  votes;  because  people  were  accustomed  to 
see  in  the  one  a  mayor,  and  in  Ihe  other  a  deputy,  and  did 
not  care  to  make  anything  else  of  either;  but  this  immense 
majority  proves  the  popularity  which  the  principal  chief  of 
the  Cirondin  party  still  possessed.  We  should  not  omit  to 
mention  that  Bailly  obtained  two  votes — a  singular  memento 
bestowed  on  that  worthy  magistrate  of  1789.     Petion  declined 

*  Sec  Appendi?  V. 
vol,  11,  36 


H4  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

the  mayoralty,  weary  of  the  convulsions  of  the  commune,  and 
preferring  the  functions  of  deputy  to  the  National  Convention. 

The  three  principal  measures  projected  in  the  famous  sitting 
of  the  24th  were  a  law  against  instigations  to  murder,  a  decree 
relative  to  the  formation  of  a  departmental  guard,  and  lastly, 
an  accurate  report  of  the  state  of  Paris.  The  two  former, 
entrusted  to  the  commission  of  nine,  excited  a  continual  out- 
cry at  the  Jacobins,  at  the  commune,  and  in  the  sections.  The 
commission  of  nine  nevertheless  proceeded  with  its  task  ;  and 
from  several  departments,  among  others,  Marseilles  and  Cal- 
vados, there  arrived,  as  before  the  10th  of  August,  battalions 
which  anticipated  the  decree  respecting  the  departmental 
guard.  Roland,  to  whom  the  third  measure,  namely,  the 
report  on  the  state  of  the  capital,  was  allotted,  performed  his 
part  without  weakness  and  with  the  strictest  truth.  He  de- 
scribed and  excused  the  inevitable  confusion  of  the  first  insur- 
rection ;  but  he  delineated  with  energy,  and  branded  with 
reprobation,  the  crimes  added  by  the  2nd  of  September  to 
the  Revolution  of  the  10th  of  August.  He  exposed  all  the 
excesses  of  the  commune,  its  abuses  of  power,  its  arbitrary 
imprisonments,  and  its  immense  peculations.  He  concluded 
with  these  words  : — 

"A  wise  department,  but  possessing  little  power;  an  active 
and  despotic  commune ;  an  excellent  population,  but  the 
sound  part  of  which  is  intimidated  or  under  constraint,  while 
the  other  is  wrought  upon  by  flatterers  and  inflamed  by 
calumny ;  confusion  of  powers  ;  abuse  and  contempt  of  the 
authorities ;  the  public  force  weak  or  reduced  to  a  cipher  by 
being  badly  commanded — such  is  Paris  !  " 

His  report  was  received  with  applause  by  the  usual  majority, 
though  during  the  reading  of  it  some  murmurs  had  been 
raised  by  the  Mountain.  A  letter,  written  by  an  individual 
to  a  magistrate,  communicated  by  that  magistrate  to  the 
executive  council,  and  unveiling  the  design  of  a  new  2nd  of 
September  against  a  part  of  the  Convention,  excited  great 
agitation.  In  that  letter  there  was  this  expression  relative  to 
the  plotters  :  "  They  are  determined  to  let  none  speak  but 
Robespierre."  At  these  words  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him. 
Some  expressed  their  indignation,  others  urged  him  to  speak. 
He  accordingly  addressed  the  Assembly,  for  the  purpose  of 
counteracting  the  impression  produced  by  Roland's  report, 
which  he  termed  a  defamatory  romance  ;  and  he  insisted  that 
publicity  ought  not  to  be  given  to  that  report  before  those 
who  were  accused,  and  himself  in  particular,  had  been  heard. 
Then  expatiating  on   so  much   as   related  to  him  personally, 


oct.  1792         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  115 

he  began  to  justify  himself ;  but  he  could  not  gain  a  hearing 
on  account  of  the  noise  which  prevailed  in  the  hall.  Robe- 
spierre, having  succeeded  in  quelling  the  uproar,  recommenced 
his  apology,  and  challenged  his  adversaries  to  accuse  him  to 
his  face,  and  to  produce  a  single  positive  proof  against  him. 
At  this  challenge  Louvet  started  up.  "  It  is  I,"  said  he,  "  I 
who  accuse  th>  He  was  already  at  the  foot  of  the  tribune 

when  he  uttered  these  words,  and  Barbaroux  and  Rebecqui 
had  followed  him  thither  to  support  the  accusation.  At  this 
sight  Robespierre  was  agitated,  and  his  countenance  betrayed 
his  emotion.*  He  proposed  that  his  accuser  should  be  heard, 
and  that  he  should  then  have  leave  to  reply.  Danton,  who 
succeeded  him  in  the  tribune,  complained  of  the  system  of 
calumny  organized  against  the  commune  and  the  deputation 
of  Paris,  and  repeated,  concerning  Marat,  who  was  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  all  these  accusations,  what  he  had  already  de- 
clared, namely,  that  he  disliked  him.  that  he  had  experienced 
his  volcanic  and  unsociable  temper,  and  that  all  idea  of  a  trium- 
viral  coalition  was  absurd.  He  concluded  by  moving  that  a 
day  should  be  fixed  for  discussing  the  report.  The  Assembly 
ordered  it  to  be  printed,  but  deferred  its  distribution  among 
the  departments  till  Louvet  and  Robespierre  should  have 
been  heard. 

Louvel  was  a  man  of  great  boldness  and  courage.  His 
patriotism  was  sincere,  but  his  hatred  of  Robespierre  was 
blended  with  resentment  occasioned  by  a  personal  quarrel, 
begun  at  the  Jacobins,  continued  in  La  Sentinelle,  revived  in 
the  electoral  assembly,  and  rendered  more  violent  since  he  was 
Face  to  face  with  his  jealous  rival  in  the  National  Conven- 
tion. With  extreme  petulance  of  disposition  Louvet  united 
a  romantic  and  credulous  imagination,  which  misled  him,  and 
caused  him  to  suppose  concerted  plans  and  plots  where  there 
was  nothing  more  than  the  spontaneous  effect  of  the  passions. 
He  firmly  believed  in  his  own  suppositions,  and  strove  to  force 
his  friends  also  to  put  faith  in  them.  But  in  the  cool  good 
sense  of  Roland  and  Petion,  and  in  the  indolent  impartiality 
of  Vergniaud.  he  had  to  encounter  an  opposition  which  molli- 
fied him.  Buzot,  Barbaroux,  Guadet,  without  being  equally 
credulous,  without  supposing  such  complicated  machinations, 
believed  in  the  wickedness  of  their  adversaries,  and  seconded 
Louvet's  attacks  from  indignation  jind  courage.     Salles,  deputy 

*  "Robespierre,  whose  countenance  had  till  then  been  firm  and  his  manner 
composed,  was  now  profoundly  agitated.  Be  had  once  measured  his  powers  at 
the  Jacobins  with  this  redoubtable  adversary,  whom  he  knew  to  be  clever,  im- 
petuous, and  regardless  of  consequences.  "     MkjihI, 


n6  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

of  La  Meurthe,  an  inveterate  enemy  to  anarchists  in  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  and  in  the  Convention — Salles,  endowed 
with  a  sombre  and  violent  imagination,  was  alone  accessible  to 
all  the  suggestions  of  Louvet,  and  like  him,  was  a  believer  in 
vast  plots  hatched  in  the  commune,  and  extending  to  foreign 
countries.  Passionate  friends  of  liberty,  Louvet  and  Salles 
could  not  consent  to  impute  to  it  so  many  evils,  and  they  were 
fain  to  believe  that  the  party  of  the  Mountain,  and  Marat  in 
particular,  were  paid  by  the  emigrants  and  England  to  urge 
on  the  Revolution  to  crime,  to  dishonour,  and  to  general  con- 
fusion. More  uncertain  relative  to  Robespierre,  they  saw  in 
him  at  least  a  tyrant  actuated  by  pride  and  ambition,  and 
aspiring,  no  matter  by  what  means,  to  the  supreme  power. 

Louvet.  having  resolved  to  attack  Robespierre  boldly,  and 
to  allow  him  no  rest,  had  his  speech  in  readiness,  and  had 
brought  it  with  him  on  the  day  when  Roland  was  to  present 
his  report.  Thus  he  was  quite  prepared  to  support  the  accu- 
sation when  he  obtained  permission  to  speak.  He  instantly 
availed  himself  of  it,  and  immediately  after  Roland. 

The  Girondins  were  already  sufficiently  disposed  to  form 
false  notions  of  events,  and  to  find  a  plot  where  nothing  but 
violent  passions  really  existed  ;  but  to  the  credulous  Louvet 
the  conspiracy  appeared  much  more  evident  and  more  in- 
timately combined.  In  the  growing  exaggeration  of  the 
Jacobins,  and  in  the  favour  which  Robespierre's  supercilious- 
ness had  found  with  them  during  the  year  1792,  he  beheld 
a  plot  framed  by  the  ambitious  tribune.  He  pictured  him 
surrounded  by  satellites  to  whose  violence  he  gave  up  his 
opponents ;  erecting  himself  into  the  object  of  an  idolatrous 
worship  ;  causing  it  to  be  rumoured  before  the  10th  of  August 
that  he  alone  could  save  liberty  and  France,  and  when  the 
10th  of  August  arrived,  hiding  himself  from  the  light,  coming 
forth  again  two  days  after  the  danger,  proceeding  direct  to  the 
commune,  notwithstanding  his  promise  never  to  accept  any 
place,  and  of  his  sole  authority,  seating  himself  at  the  bureau 
of  the  general  council ;  there  seizing  the  control  over  a  blind 
bourgeoisie,  instigating  it  at  pleasure  to  all  sorts  of  excesses, 
insulting  for  its  sake  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  demanding 
decrees  of  that  Assembly  upon  penalty  of  the  tocsin ;  direct- 
ing, but  without  showing  himself,  the  massacres  and  the 
robberies  of  September,  in  order  to  uphold  the  municipal 
authority  by  terror ;  and  afterwards  despatching  emissaries 
over  all  France  to  recommend  the  same  crimes,  and  to  induce 
the  provinces  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  and  the  authority 
of  Paris.     Robespierre,  added  Louvet,  wished  to  destroy  the 


OCT.  1792         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  117 

national  representation,  in  order  to  substitute  for  it  the  com- 
mune which  he  swayed,  and  to  give  us  the  government  of 
Home,  where,  under  the  name  of  municipia,  the  provinces 
were  subject  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  metropolis.  Thus, 
master  of  Paris,  which  would  have  been  mistress  of  France, 
he  would  have  become  the  successor  of  overthrown  royalty. 
Seeing,  however,  the  meeting  of  a  new  Assembly  near  at 
hand,  he  had  passed  from  the  general  council  to  the  electoral 
assembly,  and  directed  the  votes  by  terror,  in  order  to  make 
himself  master  of  the  Convention  b}r  means  of  the  deputation 
of  Paris. 

It  was  he,  Robespierre,  who  had  recommended  to  the  electors 
that  man  of  blood  whose  incendiary  placards  had  filled  France 
with  surprise  and  horror.  That  libeller,  with  whose  name 
Louvet  would  not,  he  said,  soil  his  lips,  was  but  the  spoiled 
child  of  murder,  who  possessed  a  courage  for  preaching  up 
crime  and  calumniating  the  purest  citizens,  in  which  the 
cautious  Robespierre  was  deficient.  As  for  Danton,  Louvet 
e  eluded  him  from  the  accusation,  nay,  he  was  astonished  that 
he  should  have  ascended  the  tribune  to  repel  an  attack  which 
was  not  directed  against  him.  He  did  not,  however,  separate 
him  from  the  perpetrations  of  September,  because  in  those 
disastrous  days,  when  all  the  authorities,  the  Assembly,  the 
ministers,  the  mayor,  spoke  in  vain  to  stop  the  massacres,  the 
minister  of  justice  alone  did  not  speak ;  because,  lastfy,  in  the 
notorious  placards  he  alone  was  excepted  from  the  calumnies 
poured  forth  upon  the  purest  of  the  citizens.  "And  canst 
thou,"  exclaimed  Louvet,  "canst  thou,  0  Danton,  clear  thyself 
in  the  eyes  of  posterity  from  this  dishonouring  exception  ?  " 
These  words,  equally  generous  and  imprudent,  were  loudly 
cheered. 

This  accusation,  continually  applauded,  had  not,  however, 
been  heard  without  many  murmurs.  "  Procure  silence  for 
me,"  Louvet  had  said  to  the  president,  "for  I  am  going  to 
touch  the  sore,  and  the  patient  will  cry  out."  "  Keep  your 
word,"  said  Danton;  "touch  the  sore."  And  whenever 
murmurs  arose,  there  were  cries  of  ••Silence!  silence,  sore 
ones  !  " 

Louvet  at  last  summed  up  his  charges.  "I  accuse  thee, 
l'ol>cspit'nv."  lie  exclaimed,  "of  having  calumniated  the  purest 
citizens,  and  of  having  done  so  on  the  day  when  calumnies 
were  proscriptions.  I  accuse  thee  of  having  put  thyself  for- 
ward as  an  object  of  idolatry,  and  of  having  spread  al>r<>;id 
thai  thou  wert  the  only  man  capable  of  saving  Prance.  I 
accuse  thee   of  having  vilified,    insulted,   and    persecuted   the 


1 1 8  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

national  representation,  of  having  tyrannized  over  the  electoral 
assembly  of  Paris,  of  having'  aimed  at  the  supreme  power  by 
calumny,  violence,  and  terror  ;  and  I  demand  a  committee  to 
investigate  thy  conduct."  Louvet  then  proposed  a  law  con- 
demning to  banishment  every  one  who  should  make  his  name 
a  subject  of  division  among  the  citizens.  He  proposed  that  to 
the  measures  the  plan  of  which  the  commission  of  nine  was 
preparing,  should  be  added  a  new  one,  for  placing  the  armed 
force  at  the  disposal  of  the  minister  of  the  interior.  "  Lastly," 
said  he,  "  I  demand  on  the  spot  a  decree  of  accusation  against 
Marat !  .  .  .  Heavens ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  0  heavens !  I  have 
named  him !  " 

Robespierre,  stunned  by  the  applause  lavished  on  his  adver- 
sary, desired  to  be  heard.  Amidst  the  uproar  and  murmurs 
excited  by  his  presence,  he  hesitated ;  his  features  were  dis- 
torted, his  voice  faltered.  He  nevertheless  obtained  a  hearing, 
and  demanded  time  to  prepare  his  defence.  He  was  allowed 
time,  and  his  defence  was  adjourned  to  the  5th  of  November. 
This  delay  was  fortunate  for  the  accused,  for  the  Assembly, 
excited  by  Louvet,  was  filled  with  strong  indignation. 

In  the  evening  there  was  great  agitation  at  the  Jacobins, 
where  all  the  sittings  of  the  Convention  were  reviewed.  A 
great  number  of  members  hurried  in  dismay  to  relate  the 
horrid  conduct  of  Louvet,  and  to  demand  the  erasure  of  his 
name.  He  had  calumniated  the  society,  inculpated  Danton, 
Santerre,  Robespierre,  and  Marat.  He  had  even  demanded 
an  accusation  against  the  two  latter,  proposed  sanguinary  laws, 
which  attacked  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  lastly,  proposed 
the  Athenian  ostracism.  Legendre  said  that  it  was  a  concerted 
trick,  since  Louvet  had  his  speech  ready  prepared,  and  that 
Roland's  report  had  evidently  no  other  object  than  to  furnish 
an  occasion  for  this  diatribe. 

Fabre  d' Eglantine  complained  that  scandal  was  daily  in- 
creasing, and  that  people  were  bent  on  calumniating  Paris  and 
the  patriots.  By  connecting,"  said  he,  "  petty  conjectures 
with  petty  suppositions,  people  make  out  a  vast  conspiracy, 
and  yet  they  will  not  tell  us  either  where  it  is  or  who  are  the 
agents  and  what  the  means.  If  there  were  a  man  who  had 
seen  everything,  appreciated  everything,  in  both  parties,  you 
could  not  doubt  that  this  man.  a  friend  to  truth,  would  be  the 
very  person  to  make  known  the  truth.  That  man  is  Petion. 
Force  his  virtue  to  tell  all  that  he  has  seen,  and  to  speak 
out  concerning  the  crimes  imputed  to  the  patriots.  What- 
ever delicacy  he  may  feel  for  his  friends,  I  dare  affirm  that 
intrigues  have  not  corrupted  him.      Petion  is  still  pure  and 


OCT.  1792         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  1 19 

sincere.  He  wanted  to  speak  to-day.  Force  him  to  explain 
himself.* 

Merlin  disapproved  of  making  Petion  judge  between  Robe- 
spierre and  Louvet,  because  it  was  violating  equality  thus  to  set 
up  one  citizen  as  the  supreme  judge  of  others.  "  Besides," 
said  he,  "  Petion  is  no  doubt  a  respectable  man,  but  should  he 
swerve  !  ...  is  he  not  man  ?  Is  not  Petion  a  friend  of  Brissot 
and  of  Roland  ?  Does  not  Petion  admit  to  his  house  Lasource, 
Vergniaud.  Barbarous:,  all  the  intriguers  who  are  compromizing 
liberty  ?  " 

Fabre's  motion  was  withdrawn,  and  Robespierre  the  younger, 
assuming  a  lugubrious  tone,  as  the  relatives  of  accused  persons 
were  accustomed  to  do  at  Rome,  complained  that  he  was  not 
calumniated  like  his  brother.  "  It  is  a  moment,"  said  he,  "of 
the  greatest  danger.  All  the  people  are  not  for  us.  It  is 
only  the  citizens  of  Paris  who  are  sufficiently  enlightened  ;  the 
others  are  so,  but  in  a  very  imperfect  degree.  It  is  possible, 
therefore,  that  innocence  may  succumb  on  Monday  ;  for  the 
Convention  has  heard  out  the  long  lie  of  Louvet.  Citizens  !  " 
he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  had  a  terrible  fright.  Methought 
assassins  were  going  to  butcher  my  brother.  I  have  heard 
men  say  that  he  would  perish  by  such  hands  only.  Another 
told  me  that  he  would  gladly  be  his  executioner."  f  At  these 
words  several  members  rose,  and  declared  that  they,  too,  had 
been  threatened,  that  it  was  by  Barbarous,  by  Rebeccpii,  and 
by  several  citizens  in  the  tribunes  ;  that  those  who  threatened 
them  said.  "  We  must  get  rid  of  Marat  and  Robespierre." 
The  members  then  thronged  around  the  younger  Robespierre 
and  promised  to  protect  his  brother  ;  and  it  was  determined 
that  all  those  that  had  friends  or  relatives  in  the  departments 
should  write  for  the  purpose  of  enlightening  the  public  opinion. 
Robespierre  the  younger,  on  leaving  the  tribune,  did  not  fail 
to  add  a  calumny.  Anarcharsis  Cloots,  he  said,  had  assured 
him  that  he  was  every  day  breaking  lances  at  Roland's  against 
federalism. 

Next  came  the  fiery  Chabot.  What  particularly  offended 
him  in  Louvet's  speech  was.  that  he  attributed  the  10th  of 
August  to  himself  and  his  friends,  and  the  2nd  of  September 
to  two  hundred  murderers.  "  Now,"  said  Chabot,  "  I  myself 
well  remember  that  on  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  August  I 
addressed  myself  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  right  side,  to  propose 

*  See  Appendix  \V. 

f  "  young  Robespierre  was  what  might  be  called  an  agreeable  young  man, 
animated  by  no  hail  sentiments,  ami  believing,  or  feigning  t<>  believe,  that  his 
brother  was  led  on  by  a  parcel  of  wretches,  every  one  of  whom  he  would  banish 

1  Cayenne  it  he  were  in  his  place." — Duchesse d'Abrantis. 


120  HISTORY  OF  oct.  1792 

the  insurrection  to  them,  and  that  they  replied  by  curling  up 
their  lips  into  a  smile.  I  know  not,  then,  what  right  they  have 
to  attribute  to  themselves  the  10th  of  August.  As  for  the 
2nd  of  September,  its  author  is  also  that  same  populace  which 
produced  the  10th  of  August  in  spite  of  them,  and  which, 
after  the  victory,  wished  to  avenge  itself.  Louvet  asserts  that 
there  were  not  two  hundred  murderers,  and  I  can  assure 
him  that  I  passed,  with  the  commissioners  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  under  an  arch  of  ten  thousand  swords.  I  recognized 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  federalists.  There  are  no 
crimes  in  revolutions.  Marat,  so  vehemently  accused,  is  per- 
secuted solely  for  revolutionary  acts.  To-day  Marat,  Danton, 
Robespierre,  are  accused.  To-morrow  it  will  be  Santerre, 
Chabot,  Merlin,"  &c. 

Excited  by  this  audacious  harangue,  a  federalist  present  at 
the  sitting  did  what  no  man  had  yet  publicly  dared  to  do. 
He  declared  that  he  was  at  work  with  a  great  number  of  his 
comrades  in  the  prisons,  and  that  he  believed  he  was  only 
putting  to  death  conspirators  and  forgers  of  false  assignats, 
and  saving  Paris  from  massacre  and  conflagration.  He  added 
that  he  thanked  the  society  for  the  kindness  which  it  had 
shown  to  them  all,  that  they  should  set  out  the  next  day  for 
the  army,  and  should  carry  with  them  but  one  regret — that 
of  leaving  patriots  in  such  great  dangers. 

This  atrocious  declaration  terminated  the  sitting.  Robe- 
spierre had  not  made  his  appearance,  neither  did  he  appear 
during  the  whole  week,  being  engaged  in  arranging  his  answer, 
and  leaving  his  partisans  to  prepare  the  public  opinion.  The 
commune  of  Paris  persisted  meanwhile  in  its  conduct  and  its 
system.  It  was  alleged  that  it  had  taken  not  less  than  ten 
millions  from  the  chest  of  Septeuil,  treasurer  of  the  civil  list ; 
and  at  that  very  moment  it  was  circulating  a  petition  to  the 
forty-four  municipalities  against  the  plan  for  giving  a  guard 
to  the  Convention.  Barbarous  immediately  proposed  four 
formidable  and  judiciously  conceived  decrees. 

By  the  first,  the  capital  was  to  lose  the  right  of  being  the 
seat  of  the  national  representation,  when  it  could  no  longer 
find  means  to  protect  it  from  insult  or  violence. 

By  the  second,  the  federalists  and  the  national  gendarmes 
were,  conjointly  with  the  armed  sections  of  Paris,  to  guard  the 
national  representation  and  the  public  establishments. 

By  the  third,  the  Convention  was  to  constitute  itself  a  court 
of  justice  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  conspirators. 

By  the  fourth  and  last,  the  Convention  was  to  cashier  the 
municipality  of  Paris. 


oct.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  2  1 

These  four  decrees  were  perfectly  adapted  to  circumstances, 
and  suitable  to  the  real  dangers  of  the  moment ;  but  it  would 
have  required  all  the  power  that  could  only  be  given  by  the 
decrees  themselves  in  order  to  pass  them.     To  create  energetic 
means,  energy  is  requisite  ;  and  every  moderate  party  which 
strives  to  check  a  violent  party  is  in  a  vicious  circle,  which  it 
can  never  get  out  of.     No  doubt  the  majority,  inclining  to  the 
Girondins.  might  have  been  able  to  carry  the  decrees  ;  but  it 
was  its  moderation  that  made  it  incline  to  them,  and  this  very 
moderation  counselled  it  to  wait,  to  temporize,  to  trust  to  the 
future,    and    to    avoid    all    measures    that    were    prematurely 
energetic.       The  Assembly  even  rejected  a  much  less  rigorous 
decree,  the  first  of  those   which  the  commission  of  nine  had 
been  charged  to  draw   up.     It  was  proposed  by   Buzot,   and 
related  to  the  instigators   of  murder  and  conflagration.      All 
direct  instigation  was  to  be  punished  with   death,   and  indi- 
rect instigation  with  ten  years'  imprisonment.     The  Assembly 
considered  the  penalty  for  direct  instigation  too  severe,  and 
indirect   instigation    too  vaguely   defined  and  too  difficult  to 
reach.     To  no  purpose  did  .Buzot  insist  that  revolutionary  and 
consequently    arbitrary    measures    were    required   against    the 
adversaries  who  were  to  be  combated.     He  was  not  listened  to, 
neither  could  he  be,  when  addressing  a  majority  which  con- 
demned revolutionary  measures  in  the  violent  party  itself,  and 
was  therefore  very  unlikely  to  employ  them  against  it.     The 
law  was  consequently  adjourned  ;  and  the  commission  of  nine, 
appointed  to  devise  means  of  maintaining  good  order,  became 
in  a  manner  useless. 

The  Assembly,  however,  manifested  more  energy  when  the 
question  of  checking  the  excesses  of  the  commune  came  under 
discussion.  It  seemed  then  to  defend  its  authority  with  a  sort 
of  jealousy  and  energy.  The  general  council  of  the  commune, 
summoned  to  the  bar,  on  occasion  of  the  petition  against  the 
plan  of  departmental  guard,  came  to  justify  itself.  It  was 
not  the  same  body,  it  alleged,  as  on  the  10th  of  August.  It 
had  contained  prevaricators.  They  had  been  justly  denounced. 
ainl  were  no  longer  among  its  members.  "Confound  not," 
it  added,  "the  innocenl  with  the  guilty.  Bestow  on  us  the 
confidence  which  we  need.  We  are  desirous  of  restoring  the 
1  ranquillity  necessary  for  the  Convention  in  order  to  1  lie  enact- 
ment of  good  laws.  As  Tor  the  presentation  of  this  petition,  it 
was  the  sections  thai  insist.  •<!  upon  if:  we  an- only  their  agents, 
luit  we  will  persuade  them  to  withdraw  it." 

This  submission  disarmed  the  Girondins  themselves,  and 
at  the  request  of  (iensonne.   the    honours  of   the  silting  were 


122  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

granted  to  the  general  council.  This  docility  of  the  adminis- 
trators might  well  gratify  the  pride  of  the  Assembly  ;  but  it 
proved  nothing  as  to  the  real  disposition  of  Paris.  The  tumult 
increased  as  the  5th  of  November,  the  day  fixed  for  hearing 
Robespierre,  approached.  On  the  preceding  day  there  were 
outcries  in  a  contrary  spirit.  Bands  went  through  the  streets, 
some  shouting.  "  To  the  guillotine,  Robespierre,  Danton, 
Marat !  " — others,  "  Death  to  Roland,  Lasource,  Guadet !  " 
Complaints  were  made  on  this  subject  at  the  Jacobins  ;  but 
no  notice  was  taken,  except  of  the  cries  against  Robespierre, 
Danton,  and  Marat.  These  cries  were  laid  to  the  charge  of 
dragoons  and  federalists,  who  at  that  time  were  still  devoted 
to  the  Convention.  Robespierre  the  younger  again  appeared 
in  the  tribune,  deplored  the  dangers  which  beset  innocence, 
condemned  a  plan  of  conciliation  proposed  by  a  member  of  the 
society,  saying  that  the  opposite  party  was  decidedly  counter- 
revolutionary, and  that  neither  peace  nor  truce  ought  to  be 
made  with  it ;  that  no  doubt  innocence  would  perish  in  the 
struggle,  but  it  was  requisite  that  it  should  be  sacrificed,  and 
Maximilien  Robespierre  must  be  suffered  to  fall,  because 
the  ruin  of  one  individual  would  not  be  attended  with 
that  of  liberty.  All  the  Jacobins  applauded  these  fine 
sentiments,  assuring  the  younger  Robespierre  that  nothing 
of  the  sort  would  happen,  and  that  his  brother  should  not 
perish. 

Complaints  of  a  contrary  kind  were  preferred  to  the 
Assembly,  and  there  the  shouts  against  Roland,  Lasource, 
and  Guadet  were  denounced.  Roland  complained  of  the 
inefficiency  of  his  requisitions  to  the  department  and  to  the 
commune,  to  obtain  an  armed  force.  Much  discussion  ensued, 
reproaches  were  exchanged,  and  the  day  passed  without  the 
adoption  of  any  measure.  At  length,  on  the  following  day, 
November  the  5th,  Robespierre  appeared  in  the  tribune. 

The  concourse  was  great,  and  the  result  of  this  solemn 
discussion  was  awaited  with  impatience.  Robespierre's  speech 
was  very  long  and  carefully  composed.  His  answers  to  Louvet's 
accusations  were  such  as  a  man  never  fails  to  make  in  such  a 
case.  "  You  accuse  me,"  said  he,  "  of  aspiring  to  tyranny  ; 
but  in  order  to  attain  it,  means  are  required  ;  and  where  are 
my  treasures  and  my  armies  ?  You  allege  that  I  have  reared 
at  the  Jacobins  the  edifice  of  my  power.  Rut  what  does  this 
prove  ?  Only  that  I  have  been  heard  with  more  attention, 
that  I  appealed  perhaps  more  forcibly  than  you  to  the  reason 
of  that  society,  and  that  you  are  but  striving  here  to  revenge 
the  wounds  inflicted  on  your  vanity.     You  pretend  that  this 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION  1  2  3 

celebrated  society  has  degenerated  ;  but  demand  a  decree  of 
accusation  against  it,  I  will  then  take  care  to  justify  it,  and  we 
shall  see  if  you  will  prove  more  successful  or  more  persuasive 
than  Leopold  and  Lafayette.  You  assert  that  I  did  not  appear 
at  the  commune  till  two  days  after  the  10th  of  August,  and 
that  I  then,  of  my  own  authority,  installed  myself  at  the 
bureau.  But.  in  the  first  place,  I  was  not  called  to  it  sooner, 
and  when  I  did  appear  at  the  bureau,  it  was  not  to  instal 
myself  there,  but  to  have  my  powers  verified.  You  add  that 
I  insulted  the  Legislative  Assembly,  that  I  threatened  it  with 
the  tocsin.  The  assertion  is  false.  Some  one  placed  near  me 
accused  me  of  sounding  the  tocsin.  I  replied  to  the  speaker 
that  they  were  the  ringers  of  the  tocsin  wTho  by  injustice 
soured  people's  minds  ;  and  then  one  of  my  colleagues,  less 
reserved,  added  that  it  would  be  sounded.  Such  is  the  simple 
fact  on  which  my  accuser  has  built  this  fable.  In  the  electoral 
assembly  I  have  spoken,  but  it  was  agreed  upon  that  this 
liberty  might  be  taken.  I  made  some  observations,  and  several 
others  availed  themselves  of  the  same  privilege.  I  have  neither 
accused  nor  recommended  any  one.  That  man  whom  you 
charge  me  with  making  use  of  was  never  either  my  friend 
or  recommended  by  me.  Were  I  to  judge  him  by  those 
who  attack  him.  he  would  stand  acquitted  ;  but  I  decide  not. 
I  shall  merely  say  that  he  has  ever  been  a  stranger  to  me  ;  that 
once  he  came  to  mv  house,  when  I  made  some  observations  on 
his  writings,  on  their  exaggeration,  and  on  the  regret  felt  by 
the  patriots  at  seeing  him  compromise  our  cause  by  the  violence 
of  his  opinions ;  but  he  set  me  down  for  a  politician  having 
narrow  views,  and  published  this  the  very  next  day.  It  is  a 
calumny  then  to  suppose  me  to  be  the  instigator  and  the  ally 
of  this  man." 

Passing  from  these  personal  accusations  to  the  general 
charges  directed  against  the  commune,  Robespierre  repeated. 
with  all  his  defenders,  that  the  2nd  of  September  was  the 
sci|uel  to  the  10th  of  August;  that  it  is  impossible  after  the 
event  to  mark  the  precise  point  where  the  billows  of  popu- 
lar insurrection  musl  have  broken;  that  the  executions  were 
undoubtedly  illegal,  but  that  without  illegal  measures  despotism 
could  not  be  shaken  off!  that  the  whole  Revolution  was  liable 
to  1h''  same  reproach,  for  everything  in  it  was  illegal,  both 
tlu'  overthrow  of  the  throne  and  the  capture  of  the  liaslille. 
lie  then  described  the  dangers  of  Paris,  the  indignation  of 
the  citizens,  their  concourse  around  the  prisons,  and  their 
irresistible  fury,  on  thinking  thai  they  should  leave  behind 
them    conspirators    who    would   butcher  their   families.       "It 


124  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

is  affirmed  that  one  innocent  man  has  perished,"  exclaimed 
the  speaker  with  emphasis — "one  only,  and  that  one  a  great 
deal  too  much,  most  assuredly.  Lament,  citizens,  this  cruel 
mistake  !  We  have  long  lamented  it ;  this  was  a  good  citizen  ; 
he  was  one  of  our  friends !  Lament  even  the  victims  who 
ought  to  have  been  reserved  for  the  vengeance  of  the  laws, 
but  who  fell  beneath  the  sword  of  popular  justice !  But  let 
your  grief  have  an  end,  like  all  human  things.  Let  us  reserve 
some  tears  for  more  touching  calamities.  Weep  for  one  hun- 
dred thousand  patriots  immolated  by  tyranny !  Weep  for 
our  citizens  expiring  beneath  their  blazing  roofs,  and  the 
children  of  citizens  slaughtered  in  their  cradles  or  in  the  arms 
of  their  mothers  !  Weep  humanity  bowed  down  beneath  the 
yoke  of  tyrants !  .  .  .  But  cheer  up,  if  imposing  silence  on 
all  base  passions,  you  are  resolved  to  ensure  the  happiness  of 
your  country,  and  to  prepare  that  of  the  world  ! 

"  I  cannot  help  suspecting  that  sensibility  which  mourns 
almost  exclusively  for  the  enemies  of  liberty.  Cease  to 
shake  before  my  face  the  bloody  robe  of  the  tyrant,  or  I 
shall  believe  that  you  intend  to  rivet  Rome's  fetters  upon 
her  again !  " 

It  was  with  this  medley  of  subtle  logic  and  revolutionary 
declamation  that  Robespierre  contrived  to  captivate  his  audi- 
tory and  to  obtain  unanimous  applause.  All  that  related  to 
himself  personally  was  just,  and  it  was  imprudent  on  the  part 
of  the  Girondins  to  stigmatize  as  a  plan  of  usurpation  that 
which  was  as  yet  but  an  ambition  of  influence,  rendered  hateful 
by  an  envious  disposition.  It  was  imprudent  to  point  out  in 
the  acts  of  the  commune  the  proofs  of  a  vast  conspiracy,  when 
they  exhibited  nothing  but  the  agitation  of  popular  passions. 
The  Girondins  thus  furnished  the  Assembly  with  an  occasion 
to  charge  them  with  wronging  their  adversaries.  Flattered, 
as  it  were,  to  see  the  alleged  leader  of  the  conspirators  forced 
to  justify  himself,  delighted  to  see  all  the  crimes  accounted 
for  as  the  consequence  of  an  insurrection  thenceforward  im- 
practicable, and  to  dream  of  a  happier  future,  the  Convention 
deemed  it  more  dignified,  more  prudent,  to  put  an  end  to  all 
these  personalities.  The  order  of  the  day  was  therefore  moved. 
Louvet  rose  to  oppose  it,  and  demanded  permission  to  reply. 
A  great  number  of  members  presented  themselves,  desirous 
of  speaking  for,  on,  or  against  the  order  of  the  day.  Bar- 
barous, hopeless  of  gaining  a  hearing,  rushed  to  the  bar, 
that  he  might  at  least  address  the  Assembly  as  a  petitioner. 
Lanjuinais  proposed  that  the  important  questions  involved  in 
Roland's  report  should  be  taken  into  consideration.     At  length 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1 2  5 

Barrere*  obtained  permission  to  speak.  "Citizens,"  said  he, 
"  if  there  existed  in  the  republic  a  man  born  with  the  genius 
of  Caesar  or  the  boldness  of  Cromwell,  a  man  possessing  the 
dangerous  means  together  with  the  talents  of  Sylla  ;  if  there 
existed  here  any  legislator  of  great  genius,  of  vast  ambition, 
or  of  a  profound  character  ;  a  general,  for  instance,  his  brow 
wreathed  with  laurels,  and  returning  among  you  to  dictate 
laws  or  to  violate  the  rights  of  the  people,  I  should  move  for 
a  decree  of  accusation  against  him.  But  that  you  should  do 
this  honour  to  men  of  a  day,  to  petty  dabblers  in  commotion, 
to  those  whose  civic  crowns  are  entwined  with  cypress,  is  what 
I  am  incapable  of  comprehending." 

This  singular  mediator  proposed  to  assign  the  following 
motive  for  the  order  of  the  day :  "  Considering  that  the 
National  Convention  ought  not  to  occupy  itself  with  any 
other  interests  than  those  of  the  republic."  ''I  oppose  your 
order  of  the  day,"  cried  Robespierre,  "if  it  contains  a  pre- 
amble injurious  to  me."  The  Assembly  adopted  the  pure  and 
simple  order  of  the  day. 

The  partisans  of  Robespierre  hastened  to  the  Jacobins  to 
celebrate  this  victory,  and  he  was  himself  received  as  a 
triumphant  conqueror.f  As  soon  as  he  appeared  he  was 
greeted  with  plaudits.  A  member  desired  that  he  might  be 
permitted  1"  speak,  in  order  that  he  might  relate  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  day.  Another  declared  that  his  modesty  would 
prevent  his  compliance,  and  that  he  declined  speaking.  Robe- 
spierre, enjoying  ll'i*  enthusiasm  in  silence,  left  to  another  the 

*  "Barrere  is  a  sort  of  undefinable  creature — a  species  of  coffee-house  wit. 
lie  used  to  go  every  day,  alter  leaving  the  committee,  to  visit  a  female  with 
whom  Champcenetz  lived,  lie  would  remain  with  her  till  midnight,  and  would 
frequently  say,  'To-morrow  we  shall  get  rid  of  fifteen,  twenty,  or  thirty  of 
them.'  When  the  woman  expri  ssed  her  horror  of  these  murders,  lie  would  reply, 
1  We  must  grease  the  wheels  of  the  Revolution,'  and  then  depart,  laughing. "- 
Monlgaillard. 

+  "Robespierre,  who  afterwards  played  so  terrible  a  part  in  our  Revolution, 
began  from  this  memorable  day  to  figure  among  its  foremost  ranks.  This  man, 
whose  talents  were  but  of  an  ordinary  kind,  and  whose  disposition  was  vain, 
own!  to  Ins  inferiority  his  late  appearance  on  the  stage,  which  in  revolutions  is 
always  a  great  advantage.  Robespierre  had  all  the  qualities  of  a  tyrant;  a  mind 
which  was  without  grandeur,  hut  which  nevertheless  was  not  vulgar.  lie  was 
a  living  proof  that,  in  civil  troubles,  obstinate  mediocrity  is  more  powerful  than 
the  irregularity  of  genius.  It  must  also  be  allowed  that  Robespierre  possessed 
the  support  of  an  immense  fanatical  sect,  which  derived  its  origin  from  the 
eighteenth  century.  It  took  lor  its  political  symbol  the  absolute  sovereignty 
of  the  'Contrat  Social'  of  J.  J.  Rousseau;  and  in  matters  of  belief  the  deism 
contained  in  the  Savoyard  Vicar's  confession  of  faith  ;  and  succeeded  for  a 
brief  space  in  realizing  them  in  the  constitution  of  1 793,  and  in  the  worship 
of  the  Supreme  Being.  There,  were,  indeed,  in  the  various  epochs  of  the 
Revolution  more  egotism  and  more  fanaticism  than  is  generally  believed."-™ 
Mignct. 


126  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

task  of  an  adulatory  harangue.  He  was  called  Aristides.  His 
natural  and  manly  eloquence  was  lauded  with  an  affectation 
which  proves  how  well  known  was  his  fondness  for  literary 
praise.  The  Convention  was  reinstated  in  the  esteem  of  the 
society,  and  it  was  asserted  that  the  triumph  of  truth  had 
begun,  and  that  there  was  now  no  occasion  to  despair  of  the 
salvation  of  the  republic. 

Barrere  was  called  to  account  for  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  expressed  himself  respecting  petty  dabblers  in  commotion ; 
and  he  laid  bare  his  character  most  completely  by  declaring 
that  he  alluded  in  those  words  not  to  the  ardent  patriots 
accused  with  Robespierre,  bat  to  their  adversaries. 

Such  was  the  result  of  that  celebrated  accusation.  It  was 
an  absolute  imprudence.  The  whole  conduct  of  the  Girondins 
is  characterized  by  this  step.  They  felt  a  generous  indigna- 
tion ;  they  expressed  it  with  talent ;  but  they  mixed  up  with 
it  so  many  personal  animosities,  so  many  false  conjectures,  so 
many  chimerical  suppositions,  as  to  furnish  those  who  loved  to 
deceive  themselves  with  a  motive  for  disbelieving  them  ;  those 
who  dreaded  an  act  of  energy,  with  a  motive  for  concluding 
that  there  was  no  immediate  danger ;  and  lastly,  those  who 
affected  impartiality,  with  a  motive  for  refusing  to  adopt  their 
conclusions  ;  and  these  three  classes  comprehended  the  whole 
Plain.  Among  them,  however,  the  wise  Petion  did  not  partici- 
pate in  their  exaggerations ;  he  printed  the  speech  which  he 
had  prepared,  and  in  which  all  circumstances  were  duly  ap- 
preciated. Vergniaud,  whose  reason  and  disdainful  indolence 
raised  him  above  the  passions,  was  likewise  exempt  from  their 
inconsistencies,  and  he  maintained  a  profound  silence.  At  the 
moment  the  only  result  for  the  Girondins  was  that  they  had 
rendered  reconciliation  impossible ;  that  they  had  even  ex- 
pended on  a  useless  combat  their  most  powerful  and  only 
means,  words  and  indignation ;  and  that  they  had  augmented 
the  hatred  and  the  fury  of  their  enemies,  without  gaining  for 
themselves  a  single  additional  resource.* 

Woe  to  the  vanquished  when  the  victors   disagree  !      The 

*  "The  Girondins  flattered  themselves  that  a  simple  passing  to  the  order  of 
the  day  would  extinguish  Robespierre's  influence  as  completely  as  exile  or  death  ; 
and  they  actually  joined  with  the  Jacobins  in  preventing  the  reply  of  Louvet — 
a  fatal  error,  which  France  had  cause  to  lament  in  tears  of  blood  !  It  was  now 
evident  that  the  Girondins  were  no  match  for  their  terrible  adversaries.  The 
men  of  action  on  their  side  in  vain  strove  to  rouse  them  to  the  necessity  of 
vigorous  measures.  Their  constant  reply  was,  that  they  would  not  be  the  first 
to  commence  the  shedding  of  blood.  Their  whole  vigour  consisted  in  declama- 
tion— their  whole  wisdom  in  abstract  discussion.  They  were  too  honourable  to 
believe  in  the  wickedness  of  their  opponents  ;  too  scrupulous  to  adopt  the  means 
requisite  to  crush  them." — Alison. 


NOV.  1792         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  127 

latter  suspend  their  own  quarrels,  and  seek  to  surpass  each 
other  in  zeal  to  crush  their  prostrate  enemies.  At  the  Temple 
were  confined  the  prisoners  on  whom  the  tempest  of  the  re- 
volutionaiy  passions  was  about  to  burst.  The  monarchy,  the 
aristocracy,  in  short,  all  the  past  against  which  the  Revolution 
was  furiously  struggling,  were  personified,  as  it  were,  in  the 
unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  The  manner  in  which  each  should 
henceforth  treat  him  was  to  be  the  test  of  his  hatred  to  the 
counter-revolution.  The  Legislative  Assembly,  too  closely 
succeeding  the  constitution  which  declared  the  King  inviolable, 
had  not  ventured  to  decide  upon  his  fate  ;  it  had  suspended 
and  shut  him  up  in  the  Temple  ;  it  had  not  even  abolished 
royalty,  and  had  bequeathed  to  a  Convention  the  duty  of 
judging  all  that  belonged  to  the  old  monarchy,  whether 
material  or  personal.  Now  that  royalty  was  abolished,  the 
republic  decreed,  and  the  framing  of  the  constitution  was  con- 
signed to  the  meditations  of  the  most  distinguished  minds 
in  the  Assembly,  the  fate  of  Louis  XVI.  yet  remained  to  be 
considered. 

Six  weeks  had  elapsed,  and  a  crowd  of  pressing  affairs,  the 
supply  and  superintendence  of  the  armies,  the  procuring  of 
provisions,  then  scarce,  as  in  all  times  of  public  disturbance, 
the  police,  and  all  the  details  of  the  government,  which  had 
been  inherited  from  royalty,  and  transferred  to  an  executive 
council,  merely  to  be  continually  reverted  to  with  extreme 
diffidence  ;  lastly,  violent  quarrels,  had  prevented  the  Assembly 
from  turning  its  attention  to  the  prisoners  in  the  Temple. 
Once  only  had  a  motion  been  made  concerning  them,  and  that 
had  been  referred,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  committee  of  legis- 
lation.  At  the  same  time  they  were  everywhere  talked  of. 
At  the  Jacobins  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  was  every  day  de- 
manded, and  the  Girondins  were  accused  of  deferring  it  by 
quarrels,  in  which,  however,  every  one  took  as  great  part  and 
interest  as  themselves.  On  the  1st  of  November,  in  the  in- 
terval between  1  lie  accusation  of  Robespierre  and  liis  apology, 
a  section  having  complained  of  new  placards  instigating  to 
murder  and  sedition,  the  opinion  of  Marat  was  asked,  as  it 
always  was.  The  Girondins  alleged  that  he  and  some  of  his 
colleagues  were  the  cause  of  all  the  disorder,  and  on  every 
fresh  circumstance  they  proposed  proceedings  against  them. 
Their  enemies,  on  the  contrary,  insisted  that  the  cause  of  the 
troubles  was  at  the  Temple:  thai  the  new  republic  would  not 
be  firmly  established,  neither  would  tranquillity  and  security  be 
restored  to  it,  till  the  ci-devant  King  should  be  sacrificed,  and 
1  hat  this  terrible  stroke  would  put  an  end  to  all  the  hopes  of  the 


128  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

conspirators.*  Jean  de  Bry,  the  deputy,  who  in  the  Legislative 
Assembly  had  proposed  that  no  other  rule  of  conduct  should 
be  followed  but  the  law  of  the  public  welfare,  spoke  on  this 
occasion,  and  proposed  that  both  Marat  and  Louis  XVI.  should 
be  brought  to  trial.  "Marat,"  said  he,  "has  deserved  the 
appellation  of  man-eater ;  he  would  be  worthy  to  be  King. 
He  is  the  cause  of  the  disturbances  for  which  Louis  XVI.  is 
made  the  pretext.  Let  us  try  them  both,  and  ensure  the 
public  quiet  by  this  twofold  example."  In  consequence  the 
Convention  directed  that  a  report  on  the  denunciations  against 
Marat  should  be  presented  before  the  Assembly  broke  up, 
and  that  in  a  week  at  latest  the  committee  of  legislation 
should  give  its  opinion  respecting  the  forms  to  be  observed  at 
the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  If  at  the  expiration  of  eight  days 
the  committee  had  not  joresented  its  report,  any  member  would 
have  a  right  to  express  his  sentiments  on  this  important  ques- 
tion from  the  tribune.  Fresh  quarrels  and  fresh  engagements 
delayed  the  report  respecting  Marat,  which  was  not  presented 
till  long  afterwards,  and  the  committee  of  legislation  prepared 
that  which  was  required  of  it  respecting  the  august  and  un- 
fortunate family  confined  in  the  Temple. 

Europe  had  at  this  moment  its  eyes  fixed  on  France. 
Foreigners  beheld  with  astonishment  those  subjects,  at  first- 
deemed  so  feeble,  now  become  victorious  and  conquering, 
and  audacious  enough  to  set  all  thrones  at  defiance.  They 
watched  with  anxiety  to  see  what  they  would  do,  and  still 
hoped  that  an  end  would  soon  be  put  to  their  audacity. 
Meanwhile  military  events  were  preparing  to  double  the  in- 
toxication of  the  one,  and  to  increase  the  astonishment  and 
the  terror  of  the  world. 

Dumouriez  had  set  out  for  Belgium  at  the  latter  end  of 
October,  and  on  the  25th  he  had  arrived  at  Valenciennes. 
His  general  plan  was  regulated  according  to  the  idea  which 
predominated  in  it,  and  which  consisted  in  driving  the  enemy 
in  front,  and  profiting  by  the  great  numerical  superiority  which 
our  army  had  over  him.  Dumouriez  would  have  had  it  in  his 
power,  by  following  the  Meuse  with  the  greater  part  of  his 
forces,  to  prevent  the  junction  of  Olairfayt,  who  was  coming 

*  "  The  Jacobins  had  several  motives  for  urging  this  sacrifice.  By  placing 
the  King's  life  in  peril,  they  hoped  to  compel  the  Girondins  openly  to  espouse 
his  cause,  and  thereby  to  ruin  them  without  redemption  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  ;  by  engaging  the  popular  party  in  so  decisive  a  step,  they  knew  that 
they  would  best  preclude  any  chance  of  return  to  the  royalist  government. 
They  were  desirous,  moreover,  of  taking  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Girondins, 
and  the  moderate  part  of  the  Convention,  the  formation  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment,"— Alison, 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  2  9 

from  Champagne,  to  take  Duke  Albert  in  the  rear,  and  to  do 
what  he  was  wrong  not  to  have  done  at  first,  for  he  neglected 
to  run  alon«'  the  Rhine,  and  to  follow  that  river  to  Cleves. 
But  his  plan  was  now  different,  and  he  preferred  to  a  scientific 
inarch  a  brilliant  action,  which  would  redouble  the  courage  of 
his  troops,  already  much  raised  by  the  cannonade  of  Valmy, 
and  which  overthrew  the  notion  current  in  Europe  for  fifty 
years,  that  the  French,  excellent  for  coups  de  main,  were  in- 
capable of  gaining  a  pitched  battle.  His  superiority  in  number 
admitted  of  such  an  attempt,  and  this  idea  was  profound,  as 
well  as  the  manoeuvres  which  he  is  reproached  for  not  having 
employed.  He  did  not,  however,  neglect  to  turn  the  enemy, 
and  to  separate  him  from  Clairfayt.  Valence,  placed  for  this 
purpose  along  the  Meuse,  was  to  march  from  Givet  upon 
Namur  and  Liege,  with  the  army  of  the  Ardennes,  eighteen 
thousand  strong.  D'Harville,  with  twelve  thousand,  was 
ordered  to  move  between  the  grand  army  and  Valence,  to 
turn  the  enemy  at  a  less  distance.  Such  were  the  dispositions 
of  Dumouriez  on  his  right.  On  his  left,  Labourdonnaye.  setting 
out  from  Lille,  was  to  march  along  the  coast  of  Flanders,  and 
to  possess  himself  of  all  the  maritime  towns.  On  reaching 
Antwerp,  he  was  directed  to  proceed  along  the  Dutch  frontier, 
and  to  join  the  Meuse  at  Ruremonde.  Belgium  would  thus 
be  enclosed  in  a  circle,  the  centre  of  which  would  be  occupied 
by  Dumouriez  with  forty  thousand  men,  who  would  thus  be 
able  to  overwhelm  the  enemy  at  any  point  where  they  should 
attempt  to  make  head  against,  the  French. 

Impatient  to  take  the  field  and  to  open  for  himself  the  vast 
career  into  which  his  ardent  imagination  impetuously  rushed, 
Dumouriez  pressed  the  arrival  of  the  supplies  which  had  been 
promised  him  in  Maris,  and  which  were  to  have  been  delivered 
on  the  25th  at  Valenciennes.  Servan  had  cpiitted  the  ministry 
of  war.  and  had  preferred  to  the  chaos  of  administration  the 
less  arduous  functions  of  commander  of  an  army.  He  was 
recruiting  his  health  and  his  spirits  in  his  camp  at  the  Pyrenees. 
Roland  had  proposed,  and  caused  to  be  accepted  as  his  suc- 
cessor, Pache,*  a  plain,  intelligent,  laborious  man,  who,  having 
formerly  left  France  to  reside  in  Switzerland,  had  returned  at 
the  epoch  of  the  Revolution,  resigned  a  pension  which  he 
received  from  the  Marshal  de  Castrie.  and  distinguished  him- 
self in  the  oflice  of  the  interior  by  extraordinary  talent  and 
application.  Carrying  a  piece  of  bread  in  his  pocket,  and 
never  (putting  the   ollice   to   take   refreshment,   he  stuck  to 

*  See  Appendix  X. 
vol.  11.  37 


130  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

business  for  whole  days  together,  and  had  pleased  Roland  by 
his  manners  and  his  assiduity.  Servan  had  made  application 
for  him  during  his  difficult  administration  in  August  and 
September,  and  it  was  with  regret,  and  only  in  consideration 
of  the  importance  of  the  business  of  the  war  department,  that 
Roland  had  given  him  up  to  Servan. 

In  his  new  post  Pache  rendered  as  good  service  as  in  the 
former ;  and  when  the  place  of  minister  at  war  became  vacant, 
he  was  immediately  proposed  to  fill  it,  as  one  of  those  obscure 
but  valuable  men  to  whom  justice  and  the  public  interest  must 
ensure  rapid  favour. 

Mild  and  modest,  Pache  pleased  everybody,  and  could  not 
fail  to  be  accepted.  The  Girondins  naturally  reckoned  upon 
the  political  moderation  of  so  cpiiet,  so  discreet  a  man,  and 
who,  moreover,  was  indebted  to  them  for  his  fortune.  The 
Jacobins,  who  found  him  full  of  deference  for  them,  extolled 
his  modesty,  and  contrasted  it  with  what  they  termed  the 
pride  and  the  harshness  of  Roland.  Dumouriez,  on  his  part, 
was  delighted  with  a  minister  who  appeared  to  be  more 
manageable  than  the  Girondins,  and  more  disposed  to  follow 
his  views.  He  had,  in  fact,  a  new  subject  of  complaint  against 
Roland.  The  latter  had  written  to  him,  in  the  name  of  the 
council,  a  letter,  in  which  he  reproached  him  with  being  too 
desirous  to  force  his  plans  upon  the  ministry,  and  in  which  he 
expressed  a  distrust  proportionate  to  the  talents  that  he  was 
supposed  to  possess.  Roland  was  well-meaning,  and  what  he 
said  in  the  secrecy  of  correspondence  he  would  have  Combated 
in  public.  Dumouriez,  misconceiving  the  honest  intention  of 
Roland,  had  made  his  complaints  to  Pache,  who  had  received 
them,  and  soothed  him  by  his  flattery  for  the  jealousies  of  his 
colleagues.  Such  was  the  new  minister  at  war.  Placed 
between  the  Jacobins,  the  Girondins,  and  Dumouriez,  listening 
to  the  complaints  of  the  one  against  the  other,  he  won  them 
all  by  fair  words  and  by  deference,  and  caused  all  of  them  to 
hope  to  find  in  him  a  second  and  a  friend. 

Dumouriez  attributed  to  the  changes  in  the  offices  the  delay 
which  he  experienced  in  the  supply  of  the  army.  Only  half 
of  the  munitions  and  accoutrements  which  had  been  promised 
him  had  arrived,  and  he  commenced  his  march  without  waiting 
for  the  rest,  writing  to  Pache  that  it  was  indispensably  requisite 
that  he  should  be  furnished  with  thirty  thousand  pair  of  shoes, 
twenty -five  thousand  blankets,  camp  necessaries  for  forty 
thousand  men,  and  above  all,  two  millions  in  specie,  for  the 
supply  of  the  soldiers,  who,  on  entering  a  country  where 
assignats  were  not  current,  would  have  to  pay  for  everything 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  3  1 

they  purchased  in  ready  money.  He  was  promised  all  that  he 
demanded  ;  and  Dumouriez,  exciting  the  ardour  of  his  troops, 
encouraging  them  by  the  prospect  of  a  certain  and  speedy 
conquest,  pushed  on  with  them,  though  destitute  of  what  was 
necessary  for  a  winter  campaign  in  so  severe  a  climate. 

The  march  of  Valence,  delayed  by  a  diversion  upon  Longwy, 
and  tlu-  want  of  military  supplies  of  all  sorts,  which  did  not 
arrive  till  November,  permitted  Clairfayt  to  pass  without 
obstacle  from  Luxembourg  into  Belgium,  and  to  join  Duke 
Albert  with  twelve  thousand  men.  Dumouriez,  giving  up  for 
the  moment  Ins  intention  of  employing  Valence,  made  Gene- 
ral d'Harville's  division  move  towards  him.  and  marching  his 
troops  between  Quarouble  and  Quievrain,  hastened  to  overtake 
the  hostile  army.  Duke  Albert,  adhering  to  the  Austrian 
system,  had  formed  a  cordon  from  Tournay  to  Moiis,  and 
though  he  had  thirty  thousand  men,  he  had  scarcely  twenty 
thousand  collected  before  the  city  of  Mons.  Dumouriez, 
pressing  him  closely,  arrived  on  the  3rd  of  November  before 
the  mill  of  Boussu,  and  ordered  his  advanced  guard,  commanded 
by  the  brave  Beurnonville,  to  dislodge  the  enemy  posted  on 
the  heights.  The  attack,  at  first  successful,  was  afterwards 
repulsed,  and  our  advanced  guard  was  obliged  to  retire. 
Dumouriez,  sensible  how  important  it  was  not  to  fall  back  011 
the  first  onset,  again  sent  Eeurnonville. forward,  carried  all  the 
enemy's  posts,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  5t.l1  found  himself  in 
presence  of  the  A  usl  rians,  entrenched  on  the  heights  skirting 
1  he  city  of  Mons. 

On  these  heights,  forming  a  circular  range  in  front  of  the 
place,  are  situated  three  villages,  Jemappes,  Cuesmes,  and 
Berthaimont.  The  Austrians.  who  expected  to  be  attacked 
there,  had  formed  the  imprudent  resolution  of  maintaining 
their  position,  and  had  long  been  taking  the  greatest  pains 
to  render  it  impregnable.  Clairfayt  occupied  Jemappes  and 
Cuesmes.  A  little  farther,  Beaulieu*  was  encamped  above 
Berthaimont.  Rapid  slopes,  woods,  abattis,  fourteen  redoubts. 
a  formidable  artillery  ranged  stage-wise,  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  protected  these  positions,  and  rendered  approach  to  them 
almost  impossible.  Tyrolese  sharpshooters  filled  the  woods 
which  extended  ;it  the  foot  of  the  heights.  The  cavalry,  posted 
in  the  intervals  bi  fcween  the  hills,  and  especially  in  the  hollow 
which  separates  Jemappes  from  Cuesmes,  were  ready  to  de- 
bouch and  to  rush  upon  our  columns  as  soon  as  they  should 
be  staggered  by  the  lire  of  the  batteries. 

*  See  Appendix  V. 


1 3  2  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  nov.  1792 

It  was  in  presence  of  this  camp,  so  strongly  entrenched, 
that  Dumouriez  established  himself.  He  formed  his  army  in 
a  semicircle  parallel  to  the  positions  of  the  enemy.  General 
d'Harville,  whose  junction  with  the  main  body  had  been 
effected  011  the  evening  of  the  5th,  was  ordered  to  manoeuvre 
on  the  extreme  right  of  our  line.  Skirting  Beaulieu's  positions 
on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  he  was  to  strive  to  turn  them,  and 
then  to  occupy  the  heights  behind  Mons,  the  only  retreat  of 
the  Austrians.  Beurnonville,  forming  at  the  same  time  the 
right  of  our  attack,  was  ordered  to  march  upon  the  village  of 
Cuesmes.  The  Due  de  Chartres,*  who  served  in  our  army 
with  the  rank  of  general,  and  who  on  that  day  commanded  the 
centre,  was  to  take  Jemappes  in  front,  and  to  endeavour  at 
the  same  time  to  penetrate  through  the  hollow  which  separates 
Jemappes  from  Cuesmes.  Lastly,  General  Ferrand,  invested 
with  the  command  of  the  left,  was  directed  to  pass  through  a 
little  village  named  Quaregnon,  and  to  move  upon  the  flank  of 
Jemappes.  All  these  attacks  were  to  be  executed  in  columns 
by  battalions.  The  cavalry  was  ready  to  support  them  in  rear 
and  upon  the  flanks.  Our  artillery  was  so  placed  as  to  batter 
each  redoubt  in  flank,  and  to  silence  its  fire  if  possible.  A 
reserve  of  infantry  and  cavalry  awaited  the  result  behind  the 
rivulet  of  Wame. 

In  the  night  between  the  5th  and  6th,  General  Beaulieu 
proposed  to  sally  from  the  entrenchments,  and  to  rush  unawares 
upon  the  French,  in  order  to  disconcert  them  by  a  sudden 
nocturnal  attack.  This  energetic  advice  was  not  -followed, 
and  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  the  French 
were  in  order  of  battle,  full  of  courage  and  hope,  though 
under  a  galling  fire  and  in  sight  of  almost  inaccessible 
entrenchments.  Sixty  thousand  men  covered  the  field  of 
battle,  and  one  hundred  pieces  of  cannon  thundered  along 
the  fronts  of  both  armies. 

The  cannonade  began  early  in  the  morning.  Dumouriez 
ordered  Generals  Ferrand  and  Beurnonville  to  commence  the 
attack,  the  one  on  the  left,  the  other  on  the  right,  while  he 
himself  in  the  centre  would  await  the  moment  for  action, 
and  d'Harville,  skirting  Beaulieu's  positions,  was  to  intercept 
the  retreat.  Ferrand  attacked  faintly,  and  Beurnonville  did 
not  succeed  in  silencing  the  fire  of  the  Austrians.  It  was 
eleven  o'clock,  and  the  enemy  was  not  sufficiently  shaken  on 
the  flanks  to  enable  Dumouriez  to  attack  him  in  front. 
The  French  general  then  sent  his  faithful  Thouvenot  to  the 

*  See  Appendix  Z. 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1  3  3 

left  wing  to  decide  the  success.  Thouvenot.  putting  an  end 
to  a  useless  cannonade,  passed  through  Quaregnon,  turned 
Jemappes.  and  marching  rapidly  with  bayonets  fixed,  ascended 
tli<-  side  of  the  hill,  and  arrived  on  the  flank  of  the  Austriaus. 

Dumouriez,  being  apprized  of  this  movement,  resolved  to 
commence  the  attack  in  front,  and  pushed  on  the  centre  direct 
against  Jemappes.  He  made  his  infantry  advance  in  columns, 
and  placed  hussars  and  dragoons  to  cover  the  hollow  between 
Jemappes  and  Cuesmes,  from  which  the  enemy's  cavalry  was 
about  to  rush.  Our  troops  formed,  and  passed  without  hesita- 
tion the  intermediate  space.  One  brigade,  however,  seeing  the 
Austrian  cavalry  debouching  by  the  hollow,  paused,  fell  back, 
and  uncovered  the  flank  of  our  columns.  At  this  moment  young 
Baptiste  Renard,  who  was  merely  a  servant  of  Dumouriez, 
impelled  by  an  inspiration  of  courage  and  intelligence,  ran  to 
the  general  of  that  brigade,  reproached  him  with  his  weakness, 
and  led  him  back  to  the  hollow.  A  certain  wavering  had 
manifested  itself  throughout  the  whole  centre,  and  our  bat- 
talions began  to  be  thrown  into  disorder  by  the  fire  of  the 
batteries.  The  Due  de  Chartres,  throwing  himself  amidst  the 
ranks,  rallied  them,  formed  around  him  a  battalion,  which  he 
called  the  battalion  of  Jemappes,  and  urged  it  on  vigorously 
against  the  enemy.  The  battle  was  thus  restored,  and  Clair- 
fayt,  already  taken  in  flank,  and  threatened  in  front,  neverthe- 
less resisted  with  heroic  firmness. 

Dumouriez,  observing  all  these  movements,  but  uncertain  of 
success,  hastened  to  the  right,  where  the  combat  was  yet  un- 
decided, in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Beurnonville.  His  intention 
was  to  terminate  the  attack  abruptly,  or  else  to  make  his 
right  wing  fall  back,  and  to  employ  it  so  as  to  protect  the 
centre,  in  case  a  retrograde  movement  should  be  necessary. 

Beurnonville  had  made  vain  efforts  against  the  village  of 
Cuesmes.  and  lie  was  about  to  fall  back,  when  Dampierre,* 
who  commanded  one  of  the  points  of  attack,  taking  with  him 
a  few  companies,  dashed  boldly  into  the  midst  of  a  redoubt. 
Dumouriez  came  up  at  the  very  moment  when  Dampierre  was 
making  this  courageous  attempt.  He  found  the  rest  of  his 
battalions  without  a  commander,  exposed  to  a  terrible  fire, 
and  hesitating  in  presence  of  the  imperial  hussars,  who  were 
preparing  to  charge  them.  These  battalions  were  the  same 
that  had  so  strongly  attached  themselves  to  Dumouriez  in  the 
camp  of  Mauhle.  Ife  cheered  and  encouraged  them  to  stand 
linn  against  the  enemy's  cavalry.      A  discharge  at  the  muzzles 

*  See  Appendix  A  A. 


i  3  4  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  nov.  1792 

of  the  guns  checked  the  cavalry,  and  Berchini's  hussars,  rush- 
ing most  seasonably  upon  them,  put  them  completely  to  flight. 
Dumouriez  then  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  battalions, 
and  striking  up  with  them  the  hymn  of  the  Marseillais,  led 
them  on  against  the  entrenchments,  overthrowing  all  before 
him,  and  taking  the  village  of  Cuesmes. 

No  sooner  was  this  exploit  achieved  than  Dumouriez,  still 
uneasy  on  account  of  the  centre,  returned  at  full  gallop, 
followed  by  some  squadrons  ;  but  he  was  met  on  the  way  by 
the  young  Due  de  Montpensier,  who  came  to  inform  him  of 
the  victory  of  the  centre,  owing  principally  to  his  brother,  the 
Due  de  Chartres.  Jemappes  being  thus  taken  in  flank  and 
front,  and  Cuesmes  having  been  carried,  Clairfayt  could  make 
no  further  resistance,  and  was  obliged  to  retreat.  Accord- 
ingly he  quitted  the  ground,  after  an  admirable  defence,  and 
abandoned  to  Dumouriez  a  dearly-bought  victory.  It  was  now 
two  o'clock,  and  our  troops,  harassed  with  fatigue,  demanded 
a  moment's  rest.  Dumouriez  granted  it  them,  and  halted  on 
the  very  heights  of  Jemappes  and  Cuesmes.  He  reckoned 
for  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  upon  d'Harville,  who  had  been 
directed  to  turn  Berthaimont,  and  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the 
Austrians.  But  the  order  being  neither  sufficiently  clear  nor 
rightly  understood,  d'Harville  had  stopped  before  Berthaimont, 
and  had  uselessly  cannonaded  its  heights.  Clairfayt  retreated, 
therefore,  under  the  protection  of  Beaulieu,  who  had  not  been 
touched,  and  both  took  the  road  to  Brussels,  which  d'Harville 
had  not  intercepted. 

The  battle  had  cost  the  Austrians  fifteen  hundred  prisoners, 
and  four  thousand  five  hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  the 
French  nearly  as  many.  Dumouriez  disguised  his  loss,  and 
admitted  it  to  amount  only  to  a  few  hundred  men.  He  has 
been  censured  for  not  having  turned  the  enemy  by  marching 
upon  his  right,  and  thus  taking  him  in  the  rear,  instead 
of  persisting  in  the  attack  of  the  left  and  the  centre.  He 
had  an  idea  of  doing  so  when  he  ordered  d'Harville  to 
turn  Berthaimont,  but  he  did  not  adhere  to  that  intention. 
His  vivacity,  which  frequently  prevented  reflection,  and  the 
desire  of  achieving  a  brilliant  action,  caused  him  at  Jemappes, 
as  throughout  the  whole  campaign,  to  prefer  an  attack  in 
front.  At  any  rate,  abounding  in  presence  of  mind  and 
ardour  in  the  midst  of  action,  he  had  roused  the  spirit  of 
our  troops,  and  communicated  to  them  heroic  courage.  The 
sensation  produced  by  this  important  battle  was  prodigious. 
The  victory  of  Jemappes  instantaneously  filled  all  France  with 
joy,  and  Europe  with  new  surprise.     Nothing  was  talked  of 


Nov.  1 792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1  3  5 

but  the  fact  of  the  coolness  with  which  the  Austrian  artillery 
had  been  confronted,  and  the  intrepidity  displayed  in  storm- 
ing their  redoubts.  The  danger  and  the  victory  were  even 
exaggerated,  and  throughout  all  Europe  the  faculty  of  gaining 
great  battles  was  again  awarded  to  the  French. 

In  Paris  all  the  sincere  republicans  were  overjoyed  at  the 
tidings,  and  prepared  grand  festivities.  Dumouriez's  servant, 
young  Baptiste  Renard.  was  presented  to  the  Convention, 
which  conferred  on  him  a  civic  crown  and  the  epaulette  of 
officer.  The  Girondins,  out  of  patriotism,  out  of  justice, 
applauded  the  success  of  the  general.  The  Jacobins,  though 
suspecting  him,  applauded  also,  because  they  could  not  help 
admiring  the  successes  of  the  Revolution.  Marat  *  alone, 
reproaching  all  the  French  for  their  infatuation,  asserted  that 
Dumouriez  must  have  misrepresented  the  number  of  his  slain, 
that  a  hill  is  not  to  be  attacked  at  so  little  cost,  that  he  had 
not  taken  either  baggage  or  artillery,  that  the  Austrians  had 
gone  away  quietly,  that  it  was  a  retreat  rather  than  a  defeat, 
that  Dumouriez  might  have  attacked  the  enemy  in  a  different 
manner;  and  mingling  with  this  sagacity  an  atrocious  rage 
for  calumny,  he  added  that  this  attack  in  front  had  been  made 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  sacrificing  the  brave  battalions  of 
Paris  ;  that  his  colleagues  in  the  Convention,  at  the  Jacobins, 
in  short,  all  the  French,  so  ready  to  admire,  were  simpletons  ; 
and  that,  for  his  part,  he  should  admit  Dumouriez  to  be  a 
good  general  when  he  should  have  subdued  all  Belgium 
without  suffering  a  single  Austrian  to  escape,  and  a  good 
patriot  when  Belgium  should  be  thoroughly  revolutionized 
and  rendered  completely  free.  "As  for  the  rest  of  you," 
said  he.  ••with  that  disposition  for  admiring  everything  on 
a  sudden,  you  are  liable  to  fly  as  suddenly  to  the  contrary 
extreme.  One  day  you  proscribe  Montesquiou.  You  are  told 
on  the  next  that  he  has  conquered  Savoy,  and  you  applaud 
him.  Again  you  proscribe  him,  and  render  yourselves  a 
general  laughing-stock  by  these  inconsistencies.  For  my  part, 
I  .ini  distrustful,  and  always  accuse;  and  as  1"  the  inconveni- 
ences of  this  disposition,  they  are  incomparably  less  than  those 
of  the  contrary  disposition  for  they  never  compromise  the 
public  welfare.  They  arc  no  doubt  liable  to  lead  me  into 
mistakes    respecting   some    individuals;    but    considering   the 

*  "In  the  year  1774  Marat  resided  at  Edinburgh,  where  lie  taught  the  French 
language,  and  published,  in  English,  a  volume  entitled  the  '  Chains  of  Slavery ; ' 
a  woi  1.  «  herein  tin'  clandestine  and  villainous  attempts  of  princes  to  ruin  liberty 
are  pointed  out,  and  dreadful  scenes  of  despotism  disclosed  ;  to  which  is  prefixed 
an  address  to  the  electors  of  GreaJ  Britain  "     Universal  Biography. 


1 3  6  HIST  OB  Y  OF  Nov.  1792 

corruption  of  the  age.  and  the  multitude  of  enemies  to  all 
liberty,  from  education,  from  principle,  and  from  interest,  I 
would  lay  a  thousand  to  one  that  I  shall  not  be  wrong  in 
considering  all  of  them  together  as  intriguers  and  public 
scoundrels  ready  to  engage  in  any  machinations.  I  am  there- 
fore a  thousand  times  less  likely  to  be  mistaken  respecting  the 
public  functionaries  ;  and  while  the  mischievous  confidence  re- 
posed in  them  enables  them  to  plot  against  the  country  with 
ecjual  boldness  and  security,  the  everlasting  distrust  which  the 
public  should  entertain  for  them,  agreeably  to  my  principles, 
would  not  allow  them  to  take  a  single  step  without  dread  of 
being  unmasked  and  punished."  * 

By  this  battle  Belgium  was  opened  to  the  French ;  but 
there  strange  difficulties  met  Dumouriez,  and  two  striking 
scenes  presented  themselves :  on  the  conquered  territory  the 
French  Revolution  acting  upon  the  neighbouring  revolutions 
for  the  purpose  of  accelerating  or  assimilating  them  to  itself ; 
and  in  our  army  a  demagogue  spirit  penetrating  into  the 
administrations,  and  disorganizing  for  the  purpose  of  purifying 
them.  There  were  in  Belgium  several  parties.  The  first,  that 
of  the  Austrian  domination,  was  confined  to  the  imperial  armies 
driven  back  by  Dumouriez.  The  second,  composed  of  the 
whole  nation,  nobles,  priests,  magistrates,  people,  unanimously 
detested  a  foreign  yoke,  and  desired  the  independence  of  the 
Belgian  nation.  But  this  latter  was  divided  into  two  others  : 
the  priests  and  the  privileged  persons  wished  to  retain  the  old 
states,  the  old  institutions,  the  demarcations  of  classes  and 
provinces,  in  short,  everything  but  the  Austrian  domination, 
and  they  had  in  their  favour  part  of  the  population  still 
extremely  superstitious  and  strongly  attached  to  the  clergy. 
Lastly,  the  demagogues,  or  Belgian  Jacobins,  were  desirous 
of  a  complete  revolution  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people. 
These  last  demanded  the  adoption  of  the  French  model,  and 
absolute  equality.  Thus  each  party  desired  only  just  so  much 
of  revolution  as  suited  its  own  purpose.  The  privileged  wanted 
nothing  more  of  it  but  their  former  condition.  The  plebeians 
wanted  mob  supremacy  and  mob  rule. 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  Dumouriez,  with  his  predi- 
lections, must  have  steered  a  middle  course  between  these 
different  parties.  Discarding  Austria,  which  he  was  combat- 
ing with  his  troops,  condemning  the  exclusive  pretensions  of 
the  privileged  orders,  he  had  nevertheless  no  wish  to  trans- 
fer the  Jacobins  of  Paris  to   Brussels,  and  to  cause  Ohabots 

*  Journal  dc  la  Jlepublique  Francaise,  by  Marat,  the  Friend  of  the  People, 
No.  43.     Monday,  November  12,  1792. 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  3  7 

and  Marats  to  spring  up  there.  His  object,  therefore,  was  to 
interfere  as  little  as  possible  with  the  former  organization  of 
the  country,  while  reforming  such  parts  of  it  as  were  too 
feudal.  The  enlightened  portion  of  the  population  was  favour- 
able to  these  views ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  mould  it  into  a 
whole,  on  account  of  the  little  connection  that  subsisted  be- 
tween cities  and  provinces  ;  and  moreover,  in  forming  it  into 
an  Assembly  he  would  have  exposed  it  to  the  risk  of  being- 
conquered  by  the  violent  party.  If,  however,  he  could  have 
succeeded,  Dumouriez  thought,  either  by  means  of  an  alliance 
or  a  union,  to  attach  Belgium  to  the  French  empire,  and  thus 
to  complete  our  territory.  He  was  particularly  solicitous  to 
prevent  peculations,  to  secure  for  himself  the  immense  re- 
sources of  the  country  for  war.  and  not  to  offend  any  class, 
that  he  might  not  have  his  army  destroyed  by  an  insurrection. 
He  intended  more  especially  to  spare  the  clergy,  who  still 
possessed  great  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people.  He 
therefore  meditated  things  which  the  experience  of  revolutions 
demonstrates  to  be  impossible,  and  which  all  administrative 
and  political  genius  must  renounce  beforehand  with  entire 
resignation.  We  shall  presently  see  his  plans  and  his  projects 
unfolding  themselves. 

On  entering  the  country  he  promised,  in  a  proclamation,  to 
respect  property,  person,  and  the  national  independence.  He 
ordered  that  everything  should  remain  as  it  then  stood;  that 
tin'  authorities  should  retain  their  functions;  that  the  taxes 
should  continue  to  be  levied ;  and  that  primary  assemblies 
should  forthwith  meet,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  National 
Convention,  that  should  decide  upon  the  fate  of  Belgium. 

Serious  difficulties  of  a  different  nature  were  starting  up 
against  him.  Motives  of  policy,  of  public  welfare,  of  humanity, 
might  make  him  desirous  of  a  prudent  and  moderate  revolution 
in  Belgium  ;  but  it  behoved  him  to  procure  subsistence  for  his 
army,  and  this  was  his  personal  affair.  He  was  a  general,  and 
above  all.  lie  was  obliged  to  be  victorious.  To  this  end  lie  had 
need  of  discipline  and  resources.  Having  entered  Mens  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th.  amidsl  the  rejoicings  of  the  Brabanters, 
who  decreed  crowns  to  him  and  to  the  brave  Dampierre,  he 
found  himself  in  the  greatesl  embarrassment.  His  com- 
missaries were  al  Valenciennes  ;  none  of  the  supplies  promised 
him  had  arrived.  He  warned  clothing  for  the  soldiers,  who 
were  half  naked,  provisions,  horses  for  his  artillery,  and  ligb.1 
carts  to  second  the  movemenl  of  the  invasion,  especially  in  a 
country  where  transport  was  extremely  difficull  :  lastly,  specie 
to  pay  the  troops,  because  the  people  of  Belgium  disliked  to 


138  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

take  assignats.  The  emigrants  had  circulated  great  quantities 
of  forged  ones,  and  thus  thrown  discredit  on  that  kind  of 
paper  ;  besides,  no  nation  is  fond  of  participating  in  the  em- 
barrassments of  another  by  taking  the  paper  which  represents 
its  debts. 

The  impetuosity  of  Dumouriez's  character,  which  was  carried 
to  imprudence,  would  not  allow  it  to  be  believed  that  he  could 
have  tarried  from  the  7th  to  the  nth  at  Mons,  and  left  the 
Duke  of  Saxe-Teschen  to  retreat  unmolested,  had  not  details 
of  administration  detained  him  in  spite  of  his  teeth,  and 
engrossed  that  attention  which  ought  to  have  been  exclusively 
fixed  on  military  matters.  He  conceived  a  very  judicious  plan, 
namely,  to  contract  with  the  Belgians  for  provisions,  forage, 
and  other  supplies.  This  course  was  attended  with  many 
advantages.  The  articles  of  consumption  were  on  the  spot, 
and  there  was  no  fear  of  delay.  These  purchases  would  give 
many  of  the  Belgians  an  interest  in  the  presence  of  the  French 
armies.  The  sellers,  being  paid  in  assignats,  would  themselves 
be  obliged  to  favour  their  circulation :  there  would  thus  be 
no  need  to  enforce  that  circulation — an  important  point ;  for 
every  person  into  whose  hands  a  forced  currency  comes  con- 
siders himself  as  robbed  by  the  authority  which  imposes  it ; 
and  a  way  of  more  universally  offending  a  nation  cannot  be 
devised.  Dumouriez  had  some  thoughts  of  another  expedient, 
namely,  to  raise  loans  from  the  clergy  under  the  guarantee 
of  France.  These  loans  would  supply  him  with  specie,  and 
though  they  would  put  the  clergy  to  momentary  inconvenience, 
yet  the  very  circumstance  of  negotiating  with  them  would 
dispel  all  apprehensions  respecting  their  existence  and  posses- 
sions. Lastly,  as  France  would  have  to  demand  of  the  Belgians 
indemnities  for  the  expenses  of  a  war  undertaken  for  their 
liberation,  these  indemnities  would  be  applied  to  the  payment 
of  the  loans ;  and  by  means  of  a  slight  balance  the  whole  cost 
of  the  war  would  be  paid,  and  Dumouriez  would  have  lived,  as 
he  had  promised  to  do,  at  the  expense  of  Belgium,  without 
oppressing  or  disorganizing  that  country. 

But  these  were  plans  of  genius,  and  in  times  of  revolution 
it  seems  that  genius  ought  to  take  a  decided  part.  It  ought 
either  to  foresee  the  disorders  and  the  outrages  which  are  likely 
to  ensue,  and  to  retire  immediately  ;  or,  foreseeing,  to  resign 
itself  to  them,  and  to  consent  to  be  violent  in  order  to  continue 
to  be  serviceable  at  the  head  of  the  armies  or  of  the  State.  No 
man  has  been  sufficiently  detached  from  the  things  of  this 
world  to  adopt  the  former  course.  There  is  one  who  has 
been  great,  and  who  has  kept  himself  pure  while  pursuing  the 


NOV.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  139 

latter.  It  was  lie  who,  placed  by  the  side  of  the  public  wel- 
fare, without  participating  in  its  political  acts,  confined  him- 
self to  the  concerns  of  war.  and  organized  victory* — a  thing 
pure,  allowable,  and  always  patriotic  under  every  system  of 
government. 

Dumouriez  had  employed  for  his  contracts  and  his  financial 
operations  Mains,  a  commissary,  to  whom  he  was  strongly 
attached,  because  he  had  found  him  clever  and  active,  without 
caring  much  whether  he  was  moderate  in  his  profits.  He  had 
also  made  use  of  one  d'Espagnacf  formerly  a  libertine  abbe. 
one  of  those  unprincipled  men  of  talent  of  the  old  regime, 
who  could  turn  their  hands  to  any  trade  with  abundance  of 
grace  and  skill,  but  left  behind  them  an  equivocal  reputation 
in  all.  Dumouriez  despatched  him  to  the  ministry  to  explain 
his  plans,  and  to  obtain  the  ratification  of  all  the  engagements 
which  he  had  contracted.  He  already  afforded  ground  for 
censure  by  the  kind  of  administrative  dictatorship  which  he 
assumed,  and  by  the  revolutionary  moderation  which  he  mani- 
fested in  regard  to  the  Belgians,  without  as  yet  compromizing 
himself  by  his  association  with  men  who  were  already  sus- 
pected, or  who,  if  they  actually  were  not  then,  were  soon  to 
become  so.  At  this  moment,  in  fact,  a  general  murmur  arose 
against  the  old  administrations,  which  were  full,  it  was  said, 
of  rogues  and  aristocrats. 

Dumouriez.  having  attended  to  the  supply  of  his  troops,  was 
occupied  in  accelerating  the  march  of  Labourdonnaye.  That 
general,  having  persisted  in  lagging  behind,  had  not  entered 
Tournay  till  very  recently,  and  there  he  had  excited  scenes 
worthy  of  the  Jacobins,  and  levied  heavy  contributions. 
Dumouriez  ordered  him  to  march  rapidly  upon  Ghent  and  the 
Scheldt,  to  proceed  to  Antwerp,  and  then  to  complete  the 
circuit  of  the  country  to  the  Meiise.  Valence,  having  at  length 
arrived  in  line  after  involuntary  delays,  was  ordered  to  be  on 
the  13th  or  14th  at  Nivelles.  Dumouriez,  conceiving  that 
the  Duke  of  Saxe-Teschen  would  retire  behind  the  canal  of 
Yilvorden,  intended  that  Valence  should  turn  the  forest  of 
Soignies,  get  behind  the  canal,  and  there  receive  the  Duke  at 
the  passage  of  1  lie  I  h  le. 

*  M.  Thiers  here  alludes  to  Carnot,  who,  to  quote  the  language  of  Napoleon, 
"organized  victory."  This  eminent  republican  was  a  member  of  the  frightful 
committee  of  public  safety;  "but  it  has  been  said  in  his  defence,"  observes 
a  competent  authority,  "that  he  did  not  meddle  with  its  atrocities,  limiting 
himself  entirely  to  the  war  department,  for  which  he  showed  so  much  talent 
his  colleagues  leh  it  to  his  exclusive  management.  He  first  daringly 
claimed  for  Prance  her  natural  boundaries;  and  he  conquered  by  his  genius  the 
countries  which  his  ambition  claimed." 

+  See  Appendix  BB. 


1 40  HISTOR  Y  OF  nov.  1792 

On  the  1 1  tli  lie  set  out  from  Mons,  slowly  following  the 
enemy's  army,  which  was  retiring  in  good  order,  but  very 
leisurely.  Ill  served  by  his  conveyances,  he  could  not  come 
up  with  sufficient  despatch  to  make  amends  for  the  delays  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected.  On  the  13th,  while  advancing 
in  person  with  a  mere  advanced  guard,  he  fell  in  with  the 
enemy  at  Anderlech,  and  had  well-nigh  been  surrounded ;  but 
with  his  usual  skill  and  firmness  he  deployed  his  little  force, 
and  made  such  a  show  of  a  few  pieces  of  artillery  that  he  had 
with  him  as  to  cause  the  Austrians  to  believe  that  he  was  on 
the  field  of  battle  with  his  whole  army.  He  thus  succeeded  in 
keeping  them  off  till  he  had  time  to  be  relieved  by  his  soldiers, 
who,  on  being  apprized  of  his  dangerous  situation,  advanced  at 
full  speed  to  disengage  him. 

On  the  14th  he  entered  Brussels,  and  there  he  was  detained 
by  fresh  administrative  embarrassments,  having  neither  money 
nor  any  of  the  resources  recjuisite  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
troops.  He  there  learned  that  the  ministry  had  refused  to 
ratify  the  contracts  which  he  had  made,  excepting  one,  and 
that  all  the  former  military  administrations  had  been  dismissed, 
and  their  place  supplied  by  a  committee  called  the  committee 
of  contracts.  This  committee  alone  was  for  the  future  to  have 
a  right  to  purchase  supplies  for  the  troops — a  business  with 
which  the  generals  were  not  to  be  permitted  to  interfere  in 
any  way  whatever.  This  was  the  commencement  of  a  revolu- 
tion which  was  preparing  in  the  administration,  and  which 
was  about  to  plunge  them  for  a  time  into  complete  dis- 
organization. 

The  administrations  which  require  long  practice  or  a  special 
application  are  those  which  a  revolution  is  longest  in  reaching, 
because  they  excite  least  ambition,  and  besides,  the  necessity 
for  keeping  capable  men  in  them  secures  them  from  arbitraiy 
changes.  Accordingly,  scarcely  any  change  had  been  made  in 
the  staffs,  in  the  scientific  corps  of  the  army,  in  the  offices  of 
the  different  ministers,  in  the  old  victualling  office,  and  above 
all,  in  the  navy,  which,  of  all  the  departments  of  the  military 
art,  is  that  which  requires  the  most  special  qualifications. 
Hence  people  did  not  fail  to  cry  out  against  the  aristocrats, 
with  whom  those  bodies  were  filled,  and  the  executive  council 
was  censured  for  not  appointing  others  in  their  stead.  The 
victualling  department  was  the  one  against  which  the  greatest 
irritation  was  excited.  Just  censures  were  levelled  at  the 
contractors,  who,  winked  at  by  the  State,  but  more  especially 
under  favour  of  this  moment  of  disorder,  required  exorbitant 
prices  in  all  their  bargains,  supplied  the  troops  with  the  worst 


Nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  HE  VOL  UTION.  1 4 1 

articles,  and  impudently  robbed  the  public.  On  all  sides  one 
general  cry  was  raised  against  their  extortions.  They  had  a 
most  inexorable  adversary  in  Oambon,*  the  deputy  of  Mont- 
pellier.  Passionately  addicted  to  the  study  of  finance  and 
political  economy,  this  deputy  had  acquired  a  great  ascendency 
in  discussions  of  this  nature,  and  enjoyed  the  entire  confidence 
of  the  Assembly.  Though  a  decided  democrat,  he  had  never 
ceased  to  inveigh  against  the  exactions  of  the  commune,  and 
he  astonished  those  who  did  not  comprehend  that  he  con- 
demned as  a  financier  the  irregularities  which  he  would  per- 
haps have  excused  as  a  Jacobin.  He  launched  out  with  still 
greater  energy  against  all  contractors,  and  followed  them  up 
with  all  the  zeal  of  his  disposition.  Every  day  he  denounced 
new  frauds,  and  required  that  a  stop  should  be  put  to  them, 
and  on  this  point  all  agreed  with  him.  Honest  men,  because 
they  wished  rogues  to  be  punished ;  Jacobins,  because  they 
loved  to  persecute  aristocrats;  and  intriguers,  because  they 
wished  to  make  vacant  places. 

The  idea  was  therefore  conceived  of  forming  a  committee 
composed  of  a  few  individuals,  appointed  to  make  all  con- 
tracts on  behalf  of  the  republic.  It  was  conceived  that  this 
committee,  sole  and  responsible,  would  spare  the  State  the 
frauds  of  the  host  of  separate  contractors,  and  that  pur- 
chasing alone  for  all  the  administrations,  it  would  not  cause 
prices  to  be  raised  by  competition,  as  was  the  case  when  each 
minister  and  each  army  bargained  individually  for  their  re- 
spective supplies.  This  measure  was  adopted  with  the  appro- 
bation of  all  the  ministers  ;  and  Cambon  in  particular  was 
its  warmest  partisan,  because  this  new  and  simple  form  was 
agreeable  to  his  absolute  mind.  It  was  intimated,  therefore, 
to  Dumouriez  that  he  would  have  no  more  contracts  to  make. 
and  lie  was  ordered  to  cancel  those  which  he  had  just  signed. 
The  chests  of  the  paymasters  were  at  the  same  time  sup- 
pressed ;  and  with  such  rigour  was  the  execution  enforced 
that  difficulties  were  made  about  the  payment  of  a  loan 
advanced  by  a  Belgian  merchant  to  the  army  upon  a  bond 
of  Dumouriez. 

This  revolution  in  the  victualling  department,  originating 
in  a  laudable  motive,  concurred  unfortunately  with  circum- 
stances that  soon  rendered  its  effects  disastrous.  Servan  had 
during  his  ministry  to  supply  the  first  wants  of  the  troops 
hastily  collected  in  Champagne,  and  it  was  accomplishing 
much  to  have  relieved  the  embarrassments  of  the  first  moment. 

*  Sec  Appendix  CC. 


1 4  2  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  Nov.  1792 

But  after  the  campaign  of  the  Argorme,  the  supplies  brought 
together  with  such  difficulty  were  exhausted  :  the  volunteers, 
who  had  left  home  with  a  single  coat,  were  almost  naked,  and 
it  was  necessary  to  furnish  each  of  the  armies  with  a  complete 
equipment  ;  and  this  renewal  of  the  whole  of  the  maUrid  had 
to  be  provided  for  in  the  heart  of  winter,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  rapidity  of  the  invasion  of  Belgium.  Pache,  Servan's 
successor,  had  consequently  a  prodigious  task  to  perform,  and 
unluckily,  though  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  application, 
he  had  an  easy  and  supple  disposition,  which,  inducing  a 
desire  to  please  everybody,  especially  the  Jacobins,  prevented 
him  from  commanding  any  one,  and  from  imparting  the 
requisite  energy  to  a  vast  administration.  If  then  we  add  to 
the  urgency  and  immense  extent  of  the  wants  of  the  troops, 
to  the  difficulties  of  the  season,  and  the  necessity  for  great 
promptitude,  the  weakness  of  a  new  ministry,  the  general 
disorder  of  the  State,  and  above  all.  a  revolution  in  the  ad- 
ministrative system,  we  shall  have  some  conception  of  the 
utter  destitution  of  the  armies,  their  bitter  complaints,  and 
the  vehemence  of  the  reproaches  between  the  generals  and 
the  ministers. 

At  the  intelligence  of  these  administrative  changes  Du- 
mouriez  was  violently  enraged.  During  the  interval  occupied 
by  the  organization  of  the  new  system,  he  saw  his  army  ex- 
posed to  the  risk  of  perishing  from  want,  unless  the  contracts 
which  he  had  concluded  were  upheld  and  executed.  He 
therefore  took  it  upon  himself  to  maintain  them,  and  Ordered 
his  agents,  Mains,  d'Espagnac,  and  a  third  named  Petit-Jean, 
to  continue  their  operations  upon  his  own  responsibility.  He 
wrote  at  the  same  time  to  the  minister  in  so  high  a  tone  as 
to  increase  the  suspicions  entertained  by  jealous,  distrustful 
demagogues,  dissatisfied  with  his  revolutionary  lukewarmness 
and  his  administrative  dictatorship.  He  declared  that  if  he 
was  expected  to  continue  his  services,  he  required  to  be  allowed 
to  provide  for  the  wants  of  his  army.  He  insisted  that  the 
committee  of  contracts  was  an  absurdity,  because  it  would 
export  laboriously,  and  from  a  distance,  that  which  was  to  be 
obtained  more  easily  upon  the  spot ;  that  the  carriage  would 
occasion  enormous  expense  and  delays,  during  which  the 
armies  would  perish  of  hunger,  cold,  and  privation  ;  that  the 
Belgians  would  lose  all  interest  in  the  presence  of  the  French, 
and  no  longer  assist  the  circulation  of  assignats  ;  that  the 
pillage  of  the  contractors  would  continue  just  the  same,  be- 
cause the  facility  of  robbing  the  State  in  the  furnishing  of 
supplies    always    had    made,    and    always    would    make,    men 


NOV.  1 79  2        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTIOK  1 4  3 

plunderers ;  and  that  nothing  would  prevent  the  members 
of  the  committee  of  contracts  from  turning  contractors  and 
purchasers,  though  forbidden  to  do  so  by  the  law  ;  that  it 
was  therefore  a  mere  dream  of  economy,  which,  were  it  even 
not  chimerical,  would  produce  for  a  moment  a  disastrous 
interruption  in  the  different  services.  What  tended  not  a 
little  to  exasperate  Dumouriez  against  the  committee  of  con- 
tracts was.  that  in  the  members  who  composed  it  he  beheld 
creatures  of  Clavieres,  the  minister,  and  that  he  regarded  the 
measure  as  arising  from  the  jealousy  felt  towards  himself  by 
the  Girondins.  It  was  nevertheless  a  measure  adopted  in 
honest  sincerity,  and  approved  of  on  all  sides,  without  any 
party  motives. 

Pache,  like  a  firm  and  patriotic  minister,  ought  to  have 
endeavoured  to  satisfy  the  general,  in  order  to  secure  the 
continuance  of  his  services  to  the  republic.  To  this  end  he 
ought  to  have  investigated  his  demands,  ascertained  what  part 
of  them  was  just,  adopted  it,  rejected  the  rest,  and  have  con- 
ducted all  matters  with  authority  and  vigour,  so  as  to  prevent 
reproaches,  disputes,  and  confusion.  Instead  of  this,  Pache, 
already  charged  by  the  Girondins  with  weakness,  and  un- 
favourably disposed  towards  them,  suffered  himself  to  be  jostled 
between  them,  the  general,  the  Jacobins,  and  the  Convention. 
In  the  council  he  communicated  the  hasty  letters  in  which 
Dumouriez  openly  complained  of  the  distrust  of  the  Girondin 
ministers  in  regard  to  him.  In  the  Convention  he  made 
known  the  imperative  demands  of  Dumouriez,  and  the  offer 
of  his  resignation  in  case  of  their  refusal.  Censuring  nothing, 
but  explaining  nothing,  and  affecting  a  scrupulous  fidelity  in 
his  reports,  he  suffered  everything  to  produce  its  most  mis- 
chievous effects. 

The  Girondins,  the  Convention,  the  Jacobins,  were  each 
irritated  in  their  own  way  by  the  high  tone  of  the  general. 
Cambon  inveighed  against  Mains,  d'  Kspagnac.  and  Petit-lean. 
quoted  the  prices  of  their  contracts,  which  were  exorbitant, 
dwelt  on  the  prodigal  licentiousness  of  d'Espagnac  and  the 
former  peculations  <>\  Petit— lean,  and  caused  a  decree  to  be 
issued  by  the  Assembly  against  all  three.  He  declared  that 
Dumouriez  was  surrounded  by  intriguers,  from  whom  it  was 
necessary  to  deliver  him;  he  maintained  that  the  committee 
of  contracts  was  an  excellent  institution;  thai  to  take  articles 
of  consumption  from  the  theatre  of  war  was  depriving  French 
artisans  of  work',  and  running  the  risk  of  seditions  on  account 
of  want  of  employment ;  that  with  regard  to  assignats,  there 
was  no  need  whatever  for  contrivance  to  make  them  circulate; 


144  HISTORY  OF  nov.  1792 

that  the  general  was  wrong  not  to  make  them  pass  current 
by  authority,  and  not  to  transport  into  Belgium  the  entire 
Revolution,  with  its  form  of  government,  its  systems,  and  its 
money ;  and  that  the  Belgians,  to  whom  they  were  giving 
liberty,  ought  along  with  it  to  take  its  advantages  and  its  dis- 
advantages. At  the  tribune  of  the  Convention,  Dumouriez 
was  considered  merely  as  having  been  duped  by  his  agents ; 
but  at  the  Jacobins,  and  in  Marat's  paper,  it  was  flatly  asserted 
that  he  was  a  partner  with  them,  and  shared  their  gains,  of 
which,  however,  there  was  no  other  proof  than  the  too  frequent 
example  of  generals. 

Dumouriez  was  therefore  obliged  to  deliver  up  the  three 
commissaries,  and  he  had  the  further  mortification  to  see  them 
arrested,  in  spite  of  the  guarantee  which  he  had  given  them. 
Pache  wrote  to  him  with  his  accustomed  mildness,  intimating 
that  his  demands  should  be  examined,  that  his  wants  should 
be  supplied,  and  that  the  committee  of  contracts  would  make 
considerable  purchases  for  this  purpose.  He  informed  him 
at  the  same  time  that  large  convoys  had  been  despatched, 
though  this  was  not  the  case.  Nothing  arrived,  and  Dumou- 
riez was  perpetually  complaining ;  so  that  to  read,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  letters  of  the  minister,  one  would  have  imagined  that 
there  was  abundance  of  everything,  while  those  of  the  general, 
on  the  other,  would  induce  a  belief  in  absolute  destitution. 
Dumouriez  had  recourse  to  expedients,  to  loans  from  the  chap- 
ters of  churches :  he  subsisted  upon  a  contract  made  by  Mains, 
which  he  was  allowed  to  maintain,  owing  to  the  urgency  of  the 
occasion  ;  and  he  was  again  detained  from  the  14th  to  the  19th 
at  Brussels. 

During  this  interval,  Stengel,  detached  with  the  advanced 
guard,  had  taken  Malines.  This  was  an  important  capture,  on 
account  of  the  stores  of  gunpowder  and  arms  of  every  kind 
which  that  place  contained,  and  which  made  it  the  arsenal 
of  Belgium.  Labourdonnaye,  who  had  entered  Antwerp 
on  the  1 8th,  was  organizing  clubs,  alienating  the  Belgians 
by  the  encouragement  which  he  gave  to  popular  agitators, 
and  meanwhile  neglecting  to  act  vigorously  in  the  siege  of 
the  castle.  Dumouriez,  unable  to  put  up  any  longer  with 
a  lieutenant  who  attended  so  much  to  clubs  and  so  little 
to  war,  sent  as  his  successor  Miranda,  a  Peruvian  of  extra- 
ordinary bravery  who  had  come  to  France  at  the  epoch 
of  the  Revolution,  and  obtained  high  rank  through  the 
friendship  of  Petion.  Labourdonnaye,  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand, and  returning  to  the  department  of  the  North,  took 
pains  to  inflame  the  zeal  of  the  Jacobins  there  against  Cccsar 


nov.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 4  5 

Dumouriez* — the  name  which  began   already  to  be  given  to 
the  general. 

The  enemy  had  at  first  intended  to  place  himself  behind  the 
canal  of  Vilvorden,  and  to  keep  in  communication  with  Antwerp. 
He  thus  committed  the  same  fault  as  Dumouriez  did  when  he 
meant  to  approach  the  Scheldt,  instead  of  running  along  the 
Meuse,  as  they  ought  both  to  have  done,  the  one  to  effect, 
the  other  to  prevent,  his  retreat.  At  length  Clairfayt,  who 
had  assumed  the  command,  felt  the  necessity  of  promptly  re- 
crossing  the  Meuse  and  leaving  Antwerp  to  its  fate.  Dumouriez 
then  ordered  Valence  to  march  from  Nivelles  upon  Namur, 
and  to  lay  siege  to  that  place.  It  was  a  grievous  blunder  that 
he  committed  not  to  direct  him,  on  the  contrary,  along  the 
Meuse,  in  order  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  Austrians.  The 
defeat  of  the  defensive  army  would  naturally  have  led  to  the 
surrender  of  the  place.  But  the  example  of  grand  strategical 
manoeuvres  had  not  yet  been  set,  and  moreover,  Dumouriez,  in 
this  instance,  as  on  many  other  occasions,  lacked  the  necessary 
reflection.  He  set  out  from  Brussels  on  the  19th,  passed 
through  Louvain  on  the  20th,  overtook  the  enemy  on  the 
22nd  at  Tirlemont,  and  killed  three  or  four  hundred  of  his 
men.  Thence,  detained  once  more  by  absolute  want,' he  did 
not  set  out  before  the  26th.  On  the  27th  he  arrived  before 
Liege,  and  had  to  sustain  a  brisk  action  at  Varoux  with  the 
rearguard  of  the  enemy.  General  Starai,  who  commanded  it, 
defended  himself  gloriously,  and  received,  a  mortal  wound. 
At  length,  on  Ihe  morning  of  the  28th,  Dumouriez  entered 
Liege  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  who  there  enter- 
tained the  most  revolutionary  sentiments.  Miranda  had  taken 
the  citadel  of  Antwerp  on  the  29th,  and  was  enabled  to 
complete  the  circuit  of  Belgium  by  marching  as  far  as  Bure- 
monde.  Valence  occupied  Namur  on  the  2nd  of  December. 
Clairfayt  proceeded  towards  the  Boer,  and  Beaulieu  towards 
Luxembourg. 

At  this  moment  all  Belgium  was  occupied  as  far  as  the 
Meuse;  but  the  country  to  Ihe  Rhine  still  remained  to  be 
concjuered,  and  Dumouriez  had  to  encounter  great  difficulties. 
Either  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  conveyance  or  the  negligence 
of  the  offices,  nothing  reached  his  army;  and  though  there 
were  considerable  stores  at  Valenciennes,  yet  there  was  a 
want  of  everything  on  the  Meuse.  Pache,  in  order  to  gratify 
the  Jacobins',  had  opened  his  office  to  them,  and  the  utmost 

*  "Though  I  were  to  be  called  'Ccesar,'  'Cromwell,'  or  'Monk,'  I  will  saw 
my  country,  in  spite  of  the  Jacobins,  and  the  conventional  regicides  who  protect 
them.     I  will  re-establish  the  constitution  of  1791."— Dwmouriez'a  Memoirs. 

vou  n.  38 


1 46  HISTOR  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

confusion  prevailed  there.  Business  was  neglected,  and  from 
inattention  the  most  contradictory  orders  were  issued.  All 
duty,  therefore,  was  rendered  nearly  impossible  ;  and  while 
the  minister  believed  that  convoys  were  despatched,  nothing 
of  the  sort  had  been  done.  The  institution  of  the  committee 
of  contracts  had  served  to  increase  the  disorder. 

The  new  commissary,  named  Ronsin,*  who  had  succeeded 
Mains  and  d'Espagnac  on  denouncing  them,  was  in  the  utmost 
embarrassment.  Most  unfavourably  received  by  the  army,  he 
had  been  deterred  from  fulfilling  his  commission,  and  in  spite 
of  the  recent  decisions,  continued  to  make  contracts  on  the 
spot.  The  army  had  in  consecpience  been  supplied  with  bread 
and  butcher's  meat ;  but  it  was  absolutely  destitute  of  clothing, 
the  means  of  transport,  ready  money,  and  forage,  and  all  the 
horses  were  dying  of  hunger.  Another  calamity  thinned  that 
army,  namely,  desertion.  The  volunteers,  who  in  the  first 
enthusiasm  had  hastened  to  Champagne,  had  cooled  after  the 
moment  of  danger  was  past.  They  were  moreover  disgusted 
by  the  privations  of  all  kinds  which  they  had  to  endure,  and 
deserted  in  great  numbers.  The  corps  of  Dumouriez  alone 
had  lost  at  least  ten  thousand,  and  was  daily  losing  more. 
The  Belgian  levies,  which  the  French  flattered  themselves  with 
the  prospect  of  raising,  were  not  brought  to  bear,  because  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  organize  a  country  where  the  different 
classes  of  the  population  and  the  different  provinces  of  the 
territory  were  by  no  means  disposed  to  agree.  Liege  was 
deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Revolution  ;  but  Bra- 
bant and  Flanders  beheld  with  distrust  the  ascendency  of  the 
Jacobins  in  the  clubs  which  efforts  had  been  made  to  establish 
in  Ghent,  Antwerp,  Brussels,  and  other  towns.  The  people  of 
Belgium  were  not  on  the  best  terms  with  our  soldiers,  who 
wanted  to  pay  in  assignats.  Nowhere  would  they  take  our 
paper  money,  and  Dumouriez  refused  to  give  it  a  forced 
circulation.  Thus,  though  victorious  and  in  possession  of  the 
country,  the  army  was  in  an  unfortunate  situation,  owing  to 
want,  desertion,  and  the  uncertain  and  almost  unfavourable 
disposition  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Convention,  puzzled  by 
the  contradictory  reports  of  the  general,  who  most  bitterly 
complained,  and  the  minister,  who  declared,  with  modesty  but 
with  confidence,  that  abundant  supplies  had  been  despatched, 
sent  four  commissioners,  selected  from  among  its  members,  to 
ascertain  with  their  own  eyes  the  real  state  of  affairs.  These 
four  commissioners  were  Danton,  Camus,  Lacroix,t  and  Cossuin. 

*  See  Appendix  DD.  t  See  Appendices  EE  and  FF. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  EE  VOL  UTION  1 4  7 

While  Dumouriez  had  employed  the  month  of  November  in 
occupying  Belgium  as  far  as  the  Meuse,  Custine,  still  over- 
running the  environs  of  Frankfort  and  the  Maine,  was 
threatened  by  the  Prussians,  who  were  ascending  the  Lahn. 
He  had  been  desirous  that  the  whole  stress  of  the  war  should 
take  place  in  his  direction,  for  the  purpose  of  covering  his  rear, 
and  protecting  his  silly  incursions  into  Germany.  Accordingly 
he  was  incessantly  complaining  of  Dumouriez,  because  he  did 
not  arrive  at  Cologne,  and  of  Kellermann,  for  not  proceed- 
ing to  Coblentz.  We  have  seen  what  difficulties  prevented 
Dumouriez  from  advancing  more  expeditiously  and  render- 
ing Kellermann 's  movement  possible.  Custine,*  relinquishing 
incursions  which  drew  forth  acclamations  from  the  tribune  of 
the  Jacobins  and  the  newspapers,  must  have  confined  himself 
within  the  boundary  of  the  Rhine,  and  fortifying  Mayence. 
made  up  his  mind  to  descend  to  Coblentz.  But  he  wished 
everything  to  be  done  in  his  rear,  that  he  might  have  the 
honour  of  taking  the  offensive  in  Germany.  Urged  by  his  soli- 
citations and  complaints,  the  executive  council  recalled  Kel- 
lermann, appointed  Beurnonville  his  successor,  and  gave  the 
latter  tardy  instructions  to  take  Treves,  in  a  very  advanced 
season,  and  in  a  country  not  only  poor,  but  difficult  to  occupy. 
There  had  never  been  more  than  one  good  way  of  executing 
this  enterprise,  namely,  to  march  at  first  between  Luxembourg 
and  Treves,  and  thus  reach  Coblentz,  while  Custine  should 
proceed  thither  along  the  Rhine.  The  Prussians,  still  dis- 
heartened by  their  defeat  in  Champagne,  would  thus  have 
been  crushed  ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  hand  would  have  been 
lent  to  Dumouriez,  who  would  have  reached  Cologne,  or  who 
would  have  been  assisted  to  reach  it  if  not  already  there. 

In  tl lis  manner  Luxembourg  and  Treves,  which  it  was  im- 
possible to  take  by  main  force,  must  have  fallen  through 
famine  and  want  of  succour.  But  Custine.  having  persisted 
in  his  excursions  in  Wetteravia,  and  the  army  of  the  Moselle 
having  continued  in  its  cantonments,  it  was  too  late  at  the 
end  of  November  to  proceed  thither  for  the  purpose  of 
supporting  Custine  against  the  Prussians,  who  had  recovered 
their  confidence  and  were  ascending  the  Rhine.  Beurnonville 
did  not  fail  to  urge  these  reasons;  but  people  were,  in  the 
mood  to  conquer;  they  wished  to  punish  the  Elector  of  Treves 
for  his  conduct ..towards  Prance;  and  Beurnonville  was  ordered 
to  make  an  attack,  which  he  attempted  with  as  much  ardour  as 

*  "Custine,  a  general  who  had  done  much  for  the  republic,  used,  when 
his  fortune  began  to  fail  him,  to  account  for  his  ill  luck  by  Baying,  'Fortune 
was  a  woman,  and  his  hairs  were  growing  gray.'  '  — Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 


148  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

if  he  had  approved  of  it.  After  several  brilliant  and  obstinate 
actions,  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  the  enterprise  and  to  fall 
back  upon  Lorraine.  In  this  situation  Custine  found  himself 
compromized  on  the  banks  of  the  Maine  ;  but  he  would  not, 
by  retiring,  acknowledge  his  rashness  and  the  insolidity  of  his 
conquest ;  and  he  persisted  in  maintaining  himself  there  with- 
out any  well-defended  hope  of  success.  He  had  placed  in 
Frankfort  a  garrison  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  men,  and 
though  this  force  was  wholly  inadequate  in  an  open  place  and 
amidst  a  population  irritated  by  unjust  imposts,  he  ordered 
the  commandant  to  maintain  his  position ;  while  he  himself, 
posted  at  Ober  Yssel  and  Haimburg,  a  little  below  Frankfort, 
affected  a  ridiculous  firmness  and  determination.  Such  was 
the  state  of  the  army  at  this  point,  at  the  end  of  November 
and  the  beginning  of  December. 

Nothing  was  yet  accomplished  along  the  Rhine.  At  the 
Alps,  Montesquiou,  whom  we  have  seen  negotiating  with 
Switzerland,  and  striving  at  the  same  time  to  bring  Geneva 
and  the  French  ministry  to  reason,  had  been  obliged  to  emi- 
grate. An  accusation  had  been  preferred  against  him,  because, 
it  was  alleged,  he  had  compromized  the  dignity  of  France,  by 
admitting  into  the  plan  of  convention  an  article  according  to 
which  our  troops  were  to  withdraw,  and  above  all,  by  carrying 
this  article  into  execution.  A  decree  was  launched  against  him, 
and  he  sought  refuge  at  Geneva.  But  his  work  was  rendered 
durable  by  its  moderation  ;  and  while  he  was  subjected  to  a 
decree  of  accusation,  negotiations  were  carrying  on  with' Geneva 
upon  the  bases  which  he  had  fixed.  The  Bernese  troops  retired  ; 
the  French  troops  cantoned  themselves  at  the  distance  agreed 
upon;  the  neutrality  of  Switzerland,  so  valuable  to  France, 
was  secured,  and  one  of  her  flanks  was  protected  for  several 
years.  This  important  service  had  not  been  appreciated,  owing 
to  the  declamation  of  Clavieres,  and  owing  likewise  to  the 
susceptibility  of  upstarts  occasioned  by  our  recent  victories. 

In  the  county  of  Nice  we  had  gloriously  recovered  the  post 
of  Sospello,  which  the  Piedmontese  had  for  a  moment  taken 
from  us,  and  which  they  had  again  lost  after  sustaining  a 
considerable  check.  This  success  was  due  to  the  ability  of 
General  Brunet.  Our  fleets,  which  commanded  the  Medi- 
terranean, sailed  to  Genoa,  to  Naples,  where  a  branch  of  the 
house  of  Bourbon  reigned,  and  to  all  the  Italian  States,  to 
obtain  their  recognition  of  the  new  French  republic.  After 
a  cannonade  off  Naples,  its  rulers  recognized  the  republic,  and 
our  fleet  returned  proud  of  the  concession  which  they  had 
extorted.      At  the   Pyrenees   absolute   immobility  prevailed ; 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1 4  9 

and  owing  to  the  want  of  means,  Servan  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  to  recompose  the  army  of  observation.  Notwith- 
standing the  enormous  expenditure  of  from  one  hundred  and 
eighty  to  two  hundred  millions  per  month,  all  the  armies  of 
the  Pyrenees,  the  Alps,  and  the  Moselle  were  in  the  same 
distress,  from  the  disorganization  of  the  services,  and  the 
confusion  pervading  the  war  department.  Amidst  all  this 
wretchedness,  however,  the  nation  was  not  the  less  proud  of 
and  intoxicated  with  victory.  At  this  moment,  when  men's 
imaginations  were  heated  by  Jemappes,  by  the  capture  of 
Frankfort,  by  the  occupation  of  Savoy  and  Nice,  by  the 
sudden  revulsion  of  European  opinion  in  our  favour,  they 
fancied  that  they  could  hear  the  crash  of  monarchies,  and 
for  a  moment  indulged  the  notion  that  all  other  nations 
were  about  to  overturn  thrones,  and  to  form  themselves  into 
republics.  "  Oh,  that  it  were  but  true !  "  exclaimed  a  member 
of  the  Jacobins,  with  reference  to  the  annexation  of  Savoy  to 
France — "that  it  were  but  true  that  the  awakening  of  nations 
had  arrived  ;  that  it  were  but  true  that  the  overthrow  of  all 
thrones  should  be  the  speedy  consecpience  .of  the  success  of 
our  armies  and  of  the  revolutionary  volcano  ;  that  it  were 
true  that  the  republican  virtues  should  at  length  avenge  the 
world  for  all  the  crimes  of  crowned  heads ;  that  every  country, 
become  free,  should  then  frame  a  government  conformable  to  the 
greater  or  less  extent  which  nature  has  given  to  it ;  and  that  a 
certain  number  of  extraordinary  deputies  from  all  these  national 
conventions  should  form  at  the  centre  of  the  globe  one  general 
convention,  to  watch  constantly  over  the  maintenance  of  the 
rights  of  man  and  the  universal  freedom  of  commerce !  "  * 

At  this  moment  the  Convention  being  apprized  of  certain 
harsh  proceedings  of  the  Due  de  Deux-Ponts  against  some  of  his 
subjects,  passed,  in  a  fit  of  enthusiasm,  the  following  decree  : — 

"  The  National  Convention  declares  that  it  will  grant  succour 
and  fraternity  to  all  the  nations  that  shall  be  desirous  of  re- 
covering their  liberty  ;  and  it  charges  the  executive  power  to 
give  orders  to  the  generals  of  the  French  armies  to  aid  those 
citizens  who  have  been,  or  who  shall  be,  harshly  treated  on 
account  of  liberty. 

"The  National  Convention  orders  the  generals  of  the  French 
armies  to  cause  the  present  decree  to  be  printed  and  posted 
in  all  places  to  which  they  shall  carry  the  anus  of  llie  republic. 

"Paris,  November  19,  1792." 

Speech   of  Milhaud,  deputy  of  the  Cautal,  delivered  at  the  Jacobins  in 
November  1792. 


THE  TRIAL  OF  LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 

rpHE  trial  of  Lords  XVI.  was  at  length  about  to  commence, 
-L  and  the  parties  awaited  this  occasion  for  measuring  their 
strength,  disclosing  their  intentions,  and  for  forming  a  definitive 
judgment  of  one  another.  The  Girondins  in  particular  were 
closely  watched  by  their  adversaries,  who  were  intent  on  de- 
tecting in  them  the  slightest  emotion  of  pity,  and  accusing 
them  of  royalism,  in  case  they  should  betray  the  least  feeling 
for  fallen  greatness. 

The  party  of  the  Jacobins,  which  made  war  upon  all 
monarchy  in  the  person  of  Louis  XVI.,  had  certainly  made 
progress ;  but  it  still  met  with  strong  opposition  in  Paris, 
and  still  greater  in  the  rest  of  France.  It  domineered  in  the 
capital,  by  means  of  its  club,  the  commune,  and  the  sections ; 
but  the  middle  class  resumed  courage,  and  still  made  some  re- 
sistance to  it.  Petion  having  refused  the  mayoralty,  Chambon, 
the  physician,  had  obtained  a  great  majority  of  votes,  and  had 
reluctantly  taken  upon  himself  an  office  which  was  by  no 
means  suited  to  his  moderate  and  unambitious  disposition. 
This  selection  proves  the  power  which  the  hourgeoise  still 
possessed  even  in  Paris.  In  the  rest  of  France  its  power  was 
much  greater.  The  landed  proprietors,  the  tradesmen,  in  short, 
all  the  middle  classes,  had  not  yet  forsaken  either  the  muni- 
cipal councils,  the  councils  of  departments,  or  the  popular 
societies,  and  sent  addresses  to  the  majority  of  the  Conven- 
tion, in  harmony  with  the  laws,  and  in  a  spirit  of  moderation. 
Many  of  the  affiliated  societies  of  the  Jacobins  censured  the 
mother  society,  and  loudly  demanded  the  erasure  of  Marat,  and 
some  even  that  of  Robespierre,  from  the  list  of  its  members. 
Lastly,  new  federalists  were  setting  out  from  the  Bouches  du 
Ehone,  Calvados,  Finistere,  and  La  Gironde,  and  anticipating 
the  decrees,  as  on  the  ioth  of  August,  were  coming  to  protect 
the  Convention,  and  to  ensure  its  independence. 

The  Jacobins  were  not  yet  masters  of  the  armies.  From 
these  the  staffs  and  the  military  organization  continued  to  keep 
them  aloof.     They  had,  however,  secured  to  themselves  one 

department  of  the  administration — that  of  war.     This  had  been 

i5o 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UT10K  1  5  1 

thrown  open  to  them  by  Pache,  from  weakness,  and  he  had  dis- 
missed all  his  old  employes  to  make  room  for  members  of  the 
club.  These  tlwiCcl  one  another  in  his  office,  appeared  there 
in  squalid  apparel,  and  made  motions  :  among  them  were 
a  great  number  of  married  priests,  introduced  by  Audouin, 
Pache's  son-in-law,  and  himself  a  married  priest.  One  of  the 
heads  of  this  department  was  Hassenfratz,  formerly  resident 
at  Metz.  expatriated  on  account  of  bankruptcy,  and  who,  like 
many  others,  had  raised  himself  to  a  high  office  by  displaying 
extraordinary  democratic  zeal.  While  the  administrations  of 
the  army  were  thus  renewed,  all  possible  pains  were  taken 
to  fill  the  army  itself  with  a  new  class  of  persons  and  with 
new  opinions.  Hence  it  happened  that  while  Roland  was 
an  object  of  the  sworn  hatred  of  the  Jacobins,  Pache  was  a 
favourite,  and  highly  extolled  by  them.  They  lauded  his  mild- 
ness, his  modesty,  his  extraordinary  capacity,  and  contrasted 
them  with  the  austerity  of  Roland,  which  they  termed  pride. 

Roland,  in  fact,  had  not  allowed  the  Jacobins  any  access 
to  the  office  of  his  department.  To  superintend  the  reports 
of  the  constituted  bodies,  to  bring  back  within  bounds  those 
which  overstepped  them,  to  maintain  the  public  tranquillity, 
to  watch  the  popular  societies,  to  attend  to  the  due  supply  of 
provisions,  to  protect  trade  and  property  ;  in  short,  to  super- 
vise  the  whole  internal  administration  of  the  State — such  were 
his  immense  duties,  and  he  performed  them  with  uncommon 
energy.  Ever}'  day  he  denounced  the  commune,  condemned 
the  excess  of  its  powers,  its  peculations,  and  its  despatch  of 
commissioners.  He  stopped  its  correspondence,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  Jacobins,  and  instead  of  their  violent  papers,  he 
substituted  others  replete  with  moderation,  which  everywhere 
produced  the  best  effect.  He  superintended  all  the  property 
nf  emigrants  which  had  devolved  to  the  State,  bestowed  par- 
ticular attention  on  the  supply  of  the  prime  necessaries  of 
life,  repressed  disturbances  of  which  they  were  the  occasion, 
and  multiplied  himself,  so  to  speak,  to  oppose  law  and  force 
whenever  he  could  to  the  revolutionary  passions.  It  is  easy 
to  conceive  what  a  difference  the  Jacobins  must  have  made 
between  Pache  and  Poland.  The  families  of  the  two  minis- 
ters conl  riluiled  themselves  to  render  this  difference  the  more 
striking.  Pache's  wife  and  daughters  wenl  to  the  clubs  and 
the  sections;  they  even  visited  the  barracks  of  the  federalists, 
for  the  purpose  of  gaining  them  over  to  the  cause,  and  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  a  low  Jacobinism  from  the  polished 
and  proud  wife  of  Roland,  who  was  moreover  surrounded  by 
those  orators  so  eloquent  and  so  detested. 


i  5  2  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

Pache  and  Roland  were  therefore  the  two  persons  around 
whom  the  members  of  the  council  rallied.  Clavieres,  at  the 
head  of  the  finances,  though  he  was  frequently  embroiled 
with  both  from  the  extreme  irritability  of  his  temper,  always 
returned  to  Roland  when  he  was  appeased.  Lebrun,  a  weak 
man,  but  attached  by  his  talents  to  the  Girondins,  received 
much  assistance  in  business  from  Brissot ;  and  the  Jacobins 
called  the  latter  an  intriguer,  and  asserted  that  he  was  the 
master  of  the  whole  government,  because  he  aided  Lebrun  in 
his  diplomatic  labours.  Garat,  contemplating  parties  from  a 
metaphysical  elevation,  was  content  to  judge,  and  did  not 
deem  himself  bound  to  combat  them.  He  seemed  to  think 
that  because  he  discovered  faults  in  the  Girondins,  he  was 
justified  in  withholding  his  support  from  them,  and  a  really 
wise  course  was  the  result  of  his  weakness.  The  Jacobins, 
however,  accepted  the  neutrality  of  so  distinguished  a  mind 
as  a  valuable  advantage,  and  repaid  it  with  some  commen- 
dations. Lastly,  Monge,*  an  eminent  mathematician,  and  a 
decided  patriot,  not  very  favourably  disposed  towards  the  some- 
what vague  theories  of  the  Girondins,  followed  the  example 
of  Pache,  suffered  his  office  to  be  overrun  by  the  Jacobins, 
and  without  disavowing  the  Girondins,  to  whom  he  owed  his 
elevation,  he  received  the  praises  of  their  adversaries,  and 
shared  in  the  popularity  of  Pache. 

Thus  the  Jacobin  party,  finding  two  complaisant  tools  in 
Pache  and  Monge,  an  indifferent  metaphysician  in  Garat,  but 
an  inexorable  adversary  in  Poland,  who  rallied  about  him 
Lebrun  and  Clavieres,  and  frequently  brought  over  the  others 
to  his  way  of  thinking — the  Jacobin  party  had  not  yet  in  its 
hands  the  government  of  the  State,  and  everywhere  repeated 
that  in  the  new  order  of  things  there  was  only  a  king  the 
less,  but  that  with  this  single  exception  there  existed  the  same 
despotism,  the  same  intrigues,  and  the  same  treasons.  They 
asserted  that  the  Revolution  would  not  be  complete  and  irre- 
vocable till  the  secret  author  of  all  machinations  and  of  all 
resistance,  confined  in  the  Temple,  should  be  destroyed. 

We  observe  what  was  the  respective  force  of  the  parties, 
and  the  state  of  the  Revolution,  at  the  moment  when  the 
trial  of  Louis  XVI.  commenced.  This  Prince  and  his  family 
occupied  the  great  tower  of  the  Temple.  The  communes, 
having  the  disposal  of  the  armed  force  and  the  superinten- 
dence of  the  police  of  the  capital,  had  also  the  guard  of  the 
Temple ;  and  to  its  jealous,  restless,  and  ungenerous  authority 

*  See  Appendix  GG. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  5  3 

the  royal  family  was  subjected.  That  unfortunate  family, 
being  guarded  by  a  class  of  men  far  inferior  to  that  of  which 
the  Convention  was  composed,  could  not  look  either  for  that 
moderation  or  that  respect  which  a  good  education  and  polished 
manners  always  inspire  for  adversity.  It  had  at  first  been 
placed  in  the  little  tower,  but  afterwards  removed  to  the  larger, 
because  it  was  thought  that  it  could  be  watched  there  with 
greater  ease  and  security.  The  King  occupied  one  floor,  and 
the  Princesses,  with  the  children,  had  another.  In  the  day- 
time they  were  allowed  to  pass  together  the  sorrowful  moments 
of  their  captivity.  A  single  attendant  had  obtained  permission 
to  follow  them  to  their  prison.  This  was  the  faithful  Clery,* 
who,  having  escaped  the  massacres  of  the  10th  of  August,  had 
returned  to  Paris  to  serve  in  misfortune  those  whom  he  had 
formerly  served  in  the  splendour  of  their  power.  He  was 
accustomed  to  rise  at  daybreak,  and  strove  by  his  assiduities 
to  supply  the  place  of  the  numerous  servants  who  had  once 
surrounded  his  employers.  They  breakfasted  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  King's  apartment.  At  ten  the  whole  family  met  in 
that  of  the  Queen.  Louis  XVI.  then  occupied  himself  in 
instructing  his  son.  He  made  him  learn  by  heart  passages  in 
Racine  and  Corneille,  and  taught  him  the  first  rudiments  of 
geography,  a  science  which  he  had  himself  cultivated  with 
great  ardour  and  success.  The  Queen,  on  her  part,  attended 
to  the  education  of  her  daughter,  and  then  spent  some  time 
with  her  sister  in  working  tapestry.  At  one  o'clock  when 
the  weather  was  fine,  the  whole  family  was  conducted  into 
the  garden,  to  take  air  and  exercise.  Several  members  of 
the  municipality  and  officers  of  the  guard  accompanied  them, 
and  at  times  they  met  with  kind  and  humane,  at  others  with 
harsh  and  contemptuous  faces. 

Uncultivated  men  are  rarely  generous,  and  with  them  great- 
ness when  it  has  fallen  is  not  to  be  forgiven.  Let  the  reader 
figure  to  himself  rude  and  ignorant  artisans,  masters  of  that 
family,  whose  power  they  reproached  themselves  with  having 
so  long  endured,  and  whose  profusion  they  had  contributed  to 

f  "Clery  we  have  seen  and  known,  and  the  form  and  manners  of  that  model 
of  pristine  faith  and  loyalty  can  never  be  forgotten.  Gentlemanlike  and  com- 
plaisant in  his  manners,  his  deep  gravity  and  melancholy  features  announced 
that  the  sad  scenes  in  which  he  had  acted  a  part  so  honourable  were  never 
for  a  moment  out  of  his  memory.  He  died  at  Hitzing,  near  Vienna,  in  1809. 
In  the  year  1 8 1 7,  Louis  XVIII.  gave  letters  of  nobility  to  his  daughter." — 
Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 

"Louis  XVI.  was  attended  during  the  whole  term  of  his  imprisonment  and 
in  his  last  moments  by  his  old  servant  Clery,  who  never  left  him.  The  names 
of  those  who  are  faithful  in  misfortune  are  sacred  in  the  page  of  history]  "  — 
HazLUt. 


154  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

supply,  and  he  will  be  able  to  conceive  what  low  revenge  they 
must  sometimes  have  wreaked  upon  it.*  The  King  and  Queen 
were  frequently  doomed  to  hear  cruel  remarks,  and  found 
upon  the  walls  of  the  courts  and  corridors  the  expressions  of 
the  hatred  which  the  former  government  had  often  merited, 
but  which  neither  Louis  XVI.  nor  his  consort  had  done  any- 
thing to  excite. f  Sometimes,  however,  they  found  relief  in 
furtive  demonstrations  of  interest,  and  they  continued  these 
painful  walks  on  account  of  their  children,  who  needed  such 
exercise.  While  they  sadly  traversed  the  court  of  the  Temple 
they  perceived  at  the  windows  of  the  neighbouring  houses  a 
great  number  of  old  subjects  still  attached  to  their  sovereign, 
and  who  came  to  survey  the  narrow  space  in  which  the  fallen 
monarch  was  confined. J  At  two  o'clock  the  walk  finished,  and 
dinner  was  served.  After  dinner,  the  King  lay  down,  and 
during  his  nap  his  wife,  sister,  and  daughter  worked  in  silence, 
while  Clery,  in  another  room,  exercised  the  young  Prince  in 
the  games  suitable  to  his  age.     The  family  afterwards  read 

*  "A  man  named  Simon,  a  shoemaker  and  municipal  officer,  was  one  of  the 
six  commissioners  appointed  to  inspect  the  works  and  expenses  at  the  Temple. 
This  man,  whenever  he  appeared  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  family,  always 
treated  them  with  the  vilest  insolence  ;  and  would  frequently  say  to  me,  so  near 
the  Kins  as  to  be  heard  by  him,  '  Clery,  ask  Capet  if  he  wants  anything,  that 
I  mayn't  have  the  trouble  of  coming  up  twice.'  One  of  the  doorkeepers  of  the 
tower,  whose  name  was  Rocher,  accoutred  as  a  pioneer,  with  long  whiskers, 
a  black  hairy  cap,  a  huge  sabre,  and  a  belt  to  which  hung  a  bunch  of  great 
keys,  came  up  to  the  door  when  the  King  wanted  to  go  out,  but  did  not  open  it 
till  his  Majesty  was  quite  close,  when,  pretending  to  search  for  the  key  among 
the  many  which  he  had,  and  which  he  rattled  in  a  terrible  manner,  he  designedly 
kept  the  royal  family  waiting,  and  then  drew  the  bolts  with  a  great  clatter. 
After  doing  this,  he  ran  down  before  them,  and  fixing  himself  on  one  side  of  the 
last  door,  with  a  long  pipe  in  his  mouth,  puffed  the  fumes  of  his  tobacco  at  each 
of  the  royal  family  as  they  went  out,  and  chiefly  at  the  Queen*  and  Princesses. 
Some  national  guards,  who  were  amused  with  these  indignities,  came  about  him, 
burst  into  fits  of  laughter  at  every  puff  of  smoke,  and  used  the  grossest  language  ; 
some  of  them  went  so  far  as  to  bring  chairs  from  the  guard-room,  to  sit  and 
enjoy  the  sight,  obstructing  the  passage,  which  was  itself  sufficiently  narrow." 
—Clery. 

t  "  One  of  the  soldiers  within  wrote  one  day,  on  the  King's  chamber-door,  and 
that,  too,  on  the  inside,  '  The  guillotine  is  permanent,  and  ready  for  the  tyrant 
Louis.'  The  walls  were  frequently  covered  with  the  most  indecent  scrawls,  in 
large  letters,  that  they  might  not  escape  notice.  Among  others  were,  '  Madame 
Veto  shall  swing.'  'The  little  wolves  must  be  strangled.'  Under  a  gallows 
with  a  figure  hanging  were  these  words  :  '  Louis  taking  an  air-bath,'  and  similar 
ribaldry." — Clery. 

J  "During  the  hour  allowed  for  walking,  a  sight  was  presented  to  the  royal 
family  that  often  awakened  their  sensibilities  and  moved  them  to  tears.  Many 
of  their  faithful  subjects,  placing  themselves  at  the  windows  of  the  houses 
round  the  garden  of  the  Temple,  took  the  opportunity  of  this  short  interval 
to  see  their  King  and  Queen  ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  be  deceived  in  their 
sentiments  and  their  wishes.  In  particular  they  would  anxiously  follow  the 
Dauphin  with  their  eyes  when  he  ran  to  any  distance  from  their  Majesties.' 
— Clery. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  155 

some  book  together,  then  supped,  and  retired  to  their  respective 
apartments  after  a  sorrowful  adieu,  for  they  never  parted  with- 
out grief.  The  King  read  for  some  hours  longer.  Montesquieu, 
Buffon,  Hume's  History,  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
some  Latin  and  Italian  classics  were  the  books  that  he  usually 
read.  He  had  finished  about  250  volumes  when  he  quitted  the 
Temple. 

Such  was  the  life  of  this  monarch  during  his  sad  captivity. 
Reduced  to  private  life,  he  was  restored  to  all  his  virtues,  and 
proved  himself  worthy  of  the  esteem  of  all  honest  hearts.  His 
very  enemies,  had  they  but  seen  him,  so  simple,  so  calm,  so 
pure,  would  not  have  been  able  to  suppress  an  involuntary 
emotion,  and  would  have  forgiven  the  faults  of  the  Prince  on 
account  of  the  virtues  of  the  man. 

The  commune,  in  the  excess  of  its  distrust,  resorted  to  the 
most  irksome  precautions.  Municipal  officers  never  suffered 
any  of  the  members  of  the  royal  family  to  be  out  of  their  sight ; 
and  it  was  only  when  their  prisoners  retired  to  rest  that  they 
suffered  a  locked  door  to  interpose  between  them.  They  then 
placed  a  bed  against  the  entrance  of  each  apartment,  so  as  to 
prevent  all  egress,  and  there  passed  the  night.  Santerre,  with 
his  staff,  made  every  day  a  general  visit  of  inspection  through- 
out the  whole  tower,  and  rendered  a  regular  account  of  it. 
The  municipal  officers  on  duty  formed  a  kind  of  permanent 
council,  which,  placed  in  an  apartment  of  the  tower,  was 
authorized  to  issue  orders,  and  to  return  answers  to  all  the 
demands  of  the  prisoners.  Pen,  ink,  and  paper  had  at  first 
been  left  in  the  prison ;  but  these  articles  were  soon  taken 
away,  as  well  as  all  sharp  instruments,  such  as  razors,  scissors, 
or  penknives,  and  the  strictest  and  most  offensive  search  was 
made  to  discover  any  such  implements  that  might  have  been 
concealed.  This  was  a  great  affliction  for  the  Princesses,  who 
were  thenceforward  deprived  of  their  needlework,  and  could  no 
longer  repair  their  apparel,  which  was  in  a  very  bad  state,  as 
they  had  not  been  supplied  with  anything  new  since  their 
transfer  to  the  Temple.  The  wife  of  the  English  ambassador 
sent  body-linen  to  the  Queen,  and  on  the  application  of  the 
King,  the  commune  directed  some  to  be  made  for  the  whole 
family.  As  for  outer  garments,  neither  the  King  nor  the 
Queen*  cared  to  ask  for  them  :  but  no  doubt  they  would  have 

"  I  have  heard  Mr.  Northcote  describe  the  Queen,  in  her  happier  and  younger 
days,  as  entering  a  small  ante-room  where  he  was  standing,  with  her  large  hoop 
sideways,  ami  gliding  hy  him  from  one  end  to  the  other  as  it'  home  on  a  cloud. 
It  was  possibly  to  'this  air  with  which  she  trod,  or  rather  disdained  the  earth,' 
as  if  descended  from  some  higher  sphere,  that  she  owed  the  indignity  of  being 
conducted  to  the  scaffold."—  llaJiu. 


i  5  6  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

obtained  them  had  they  expressed  any  wish  to  that  effect. 
With  respect  to  money,  the  sum  of  two  thousand  francs  was 
given  to  them  in  September  for  their  petty  expenses  ;  but  they 
were  not  supplied  with  more,  for  fear  of  the  use  which  might 
be  made  of  it.  A  sum  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  governor 
of  the  Temple,  and  on  the  application  of  the  prisoners  the 
different  articles  which  they  needed  were  purchased  for  them. 

We  must  not  exaggerate  the  faults  of  human  nature,  and 
suppose  that,  adding  an  execrable  meanness  to  the  fury  of 
fanaticism,  the  keepers  of  the  imprisoned  family  imposed  on  it 
unworthy  privations,  with  the  intention  of  rendering  the  re- 
membrance of  its  past  greatness  the  more  painful.  Distrust 
was  the  sole  cause  of  certain  refusals.  Thus  while  the  dread 
of  plots  and  secret  communications  prevented  them  from  ad- 
mitting more  than  one  attendant  into  the  interior  of  the  prison, 
a  numerous  establishment  was  employed  in  preparing  their 
food.  Thirteen  persons  were  engaged  in  the  duties  of  the 
kitchen,  situated  at  some  distance  from  the  tower.  The  reports 
of  the  expenses  of  the  Temple,  where  the  greatest  decency  is 
observed,  where  the  prisoners  are  mentioned  with  respect, 
where  their  sobriety  is  commended,  where  Louis  XVI.  is 
justified  from  the  low  reproach  of  being  too  much  addicted  to 
wine — these  reports,  which  are  not  liable  to  suspicion,  make 
the  total  expense  for  the  table  amount  in  two  months  to  28,745 
livres.  While  thirteen  domestics  occupied  the  kitchen,  one 
only  was  allowed  to  enter  the  prison,  and  to  assist  Clery  in 
waiting  upon  the  prisoners  at  table.  So  ingenious  is  captivity 
that  it  was  by  means  of  this  domestic,  whose  sensibility  Clery 
had  contrived  to  excite,  that  news  from  without  sometimes 
penetrated  into  the  Temple.  The  unfortunate  prisoners  had 
always  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  occurrences  outside  that 
building.  The  representatives  of  the  commune  had  merely 
sent  to  them  the  newspapers  which  recorded  the  victories  of 
the  republic,  and  which  thus  deprived  them  of  every  hope. 

Clery  had  devised  a  clever  expedient  to  make  them  acquainted 
with  circumstances  as  they  occurred,  and  which  had  succeeded 
tolerably  well.  By  means  of  communications  which  he  had 
formed  outside  the  prison,  he  had  caused  a  public  hawker  to 
be  engaged  and  paid.  This  man  came  daily  beneath  the 
windows  of  the  Temple,  and  under  pretext  of  selling  news- 
papers, he  bawled  out  with  all  his  might  the  principal  details 
contained  in  them.  Clery,  who  had  fixed  the  hour  for  his 
coming,  was  sure  to  be  at  the  window  above,  noted  all  that 
he  heard,  and  at  night  stooping  over  the  King's  bed  at  the 
moment  when  he  drew  his  curtains,  he  communicated  to  him 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  5  7 

the  intelligence  which  he  had  thus  obtained.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  the  illustrious  family  thrust  from  the  throne  into 
a  prison,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  ingenious  zeal  of  a 
faithful  servant  baffled  the  jealous  caution  of  its  gaolers. 

The  committees  had  at  length  presented  their  report  relative 
to  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  Dufriche-Valaze  had  made  a  first 
report  on  the  charges  alleged  against  the  monarch,  and  the 
documents  that  could  furnish  proofs  of  them.  This  report,  too 
long  to  be  read  through,  was  printed  by  order  of  the  Conven- 
tion and  sent  to  each  of  its  members.  On  the  7th  of  November, 
Mailhe,  in  the  name  of  the  committee  of  legislation,  presented 
the  report  on  the  great  questions  to  which  the  trial  gave  rise  : 

Can  Louis  XVI.  be  tried  ? 

What  tribunal  shall  pronounce  judgment  ? 

Such  were  the  two  essential  questions  which  were  about 
to  engage  all  minds,  and  to  agitate  them  profoundly.  The 
report  was  ordered  to  be  printed  immediately.  Being  trans- 
lated into  all  languages,  and  numerous  copies  circulated,  it 
was  soon  spread  throughout  France  and  Europe.  The  discus- 
sion was  adjourned  till  the  13th,  in  spite  of  Billaud-Varennes, 
who  insisted  that  the  Assembly  should  decide  by  acclamation 
the  question  of  bringing  the  King  to  trial. 

Now  was  about  to  ensue  the  last  conflict  between  the  ideas 
of  the  Constituent  Assembly  and  the  ideas  of  the  Convention ; 
and  this  conflict  was  destined  to  be  the  more  violent,  inasmuch 
as  the  life  or  death  of  the  King  was  to  be  the  result  of  it.  The 
Constituent  Assembly  was  democratic  in  its  ideas,  and  monar- 
chical in  its  sentiments.  Thus  while  it  constituted  the  entire 
Slate  a  republic,  from  a  remnant  of  affection  and  delicacy 
towards  Louis  XVI.  it  retained  royalty  with  the  attributes 
invariably  allotted  to  it  in  the  system  of  a  well-regulated  feudal 
monarchy.  Hereditary  succession,  executive  power,  participa- 
tion in  the  legislative  power,  and  above  all,  inviolability — such 
are  the  prerogatives  assigned  to  the  throne  in  modern  monar- 
chies, and  which  the  firsl  Assembly  had  left  to  the  reigning 
house.  Participation  in  the  legislative  power  and  the  executive 
power  are  functions  which  may  vary  in  their  extent,  and  which 
d<  1  not  constitute  modern  royalty  so  essentially  as  hereditary  suc- 
cession and  inviolability.  Of  these  two  latter,  the  one  ensures 
the  perpetual  and  natural  transmission  of  royalty;  the  second 
places  it  beyond  all  attack  in  the  person  of  every  heir ;  and 
both  make  it  something  perpetual,  which  is  never  interrupted, 
and  something  inaccessible,  which  no  penalty  can  reach. 
Doomed  to  act  solely  by  ministers,  who  are  responsible  for  its 
actions,  royalty  is  accessible  only  in  its  agents,  ami  thus  there  is 


158  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

a  point  where  it  may  be  struck  without  being  shaken.  Such  is 
feudal  monarchy,  successively  modified  by  time,  and  reconciled 
with  the  degree  of  liberty  which  modern  nations  have  attained. 

The  Constituent  Assembly,  however,  had  been  induced  to 
lay  a  restriction  on  this  royal  inviolability.  The  flight  to 
Varennes,  and  the  enterprises  of  the  emigrants,  had  led  it  to 
think  that  the  ministerial  responsibility  would  not  guarantee 
a  nation  from  all  the  faults  of  royalty.  It  had  therefore 
provided  for  the  case  when  a  monarch  should  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  a  hostile  army  to  attack  the  constitution  of 
the  State,  or  else  should  not  oppose  by  a  formal  act  an  enter- 
prise of  this  nature  undertaken  in  his  name.  In  this  case 
it  had  declared  the  monarch  not  amenable  to  the  ordinary 
laws  against  felony,  but  to  have  forfeited  the  crown.  He  was 
deemed  to  have  abdicated  royalty.  Such  is  the  precise  language 
of  the  law  which  it  had  passed.  The  proposal  to  accept  the 
constitution  made  by  it  to  the  King,  and  the  acceptance  on 
the  part  of  the  King,  had  rendered  the  contract  irrevocable, 
and  the  Assembly  had  bound  itself  by  a  solemn  engagement 
to  hold  sacred  the  person  of  the  monarchs. 

The  Convention,  when  debating  upon  the  fate  of  Louis  XVI., 
found  itself  face  to  face  with  this  agreement ;  but  these 
successors  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  called  together  under 
the  name  of  Convention,  did  not  consider  themselves  bound 
by  the  acts  of  their  predecessors,  any  more  than  the  members 
of  the  Constituent  Assembly  had  felt  that  they  were  by  the  laws 
of  the  old  Feudal  System.  Men's  minds  had  been-  hurried 
along  with  such  rapidity  that  the  laws  of  1791  appeared  as 
absurd  to  the  generation  of  1792  as  those  of  the  thirteenth 
century  had  appeared  to  the  generation  of  1789.*  The  Con- 
ventionalists therefore  did  not  deem  themselves  bound  by  a 
law  which  they  regarded  as  absurd,  and  they  declared  them- 
selves in  insiirrection  against  it,  as  the  States-general  did 
against  that  of  the  three  orders. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  discussion  commenced,  two  systems 
were  seen  in  decided  opposition  to  each  other.  Some  main- 
tained the  inviolability,  others  absolutely  rejected  it.  Such 
had  been  the   change  of  ideas  that  no  member  of  the   Con- 

*  One  of  the  most  eminent  members  of  the  Gironde  party  contradicts  this 
assertion.  "  It  must  not  be  dissembled,"  he  says,  "that  the  majority  of  French- 
men desired  royalty  and  the  constitution  of  1791.  There  were  only  a  few  noble 
and  elevated  minds  who  felt  themselves  worthy  to  be  republicans.  The  rest  of 
the  nation,  with  the  exception  of  the  ignorant  wretches  without  either  sense  or 
substance,  who  vomited  abuse  against  royalty,  as  at  another  time  they  would 
have  done  against  a  commonwealth,  and  all  without  knowing  why — the  rest  of 
the  nation  were  all  attached  to  the  constitution  of  1791." — Buzot's  Memoirs. 


dec.  1792         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1  5  9 

vention  durst  defend  the  inviolability  as  good  in  itself,  and 
even  those  who  were  in  favour  of  it  defended  it  solely  as  an 
anterior  arrangement,  the  benefit  of  which  was  guaranteed  to 
the  monarch,  and  of  which  the  Assembly  could  not  dispossess 
him  without  violating  a  national  engagement.  Nay,  there 
were  but  very  few  deputies  who  supported  it  as  an  engage- 
ment contracted,  and  the  Girondins  even  condemned  it  in  this 
point  of  view.  They  abstained,  however,  from  taking  part  in 
the  debate,  and  coldly  watched  the  discussion  raised  between 
the  rare  partisans  of  inviolability  and  its  numerous  adversaries. 

"In  the  first  place,"  said  the  adversaries  of  inviolability,  "in 
order  that  an  engagement  shall  be  binding,  it  is  requisite  that 
the  party  contracting  such  engagement  shall  have  a  right  to 
bind  himself.  Now  the  national  sovereignty  is  inalienable, 
and  cannot  bind  itself  for  the  time  to  come.  The  nation  may 
certainly,  in  stipulating  the  inviolability,  have  rendered  the 
executive  power  inaccessible  to  the  attacks  of  the  legislative 
power.  It  is  a  politic  precaution,  the  motive  of  which  may  be 
easily  conceived  in  the  system  of  the  Constituent  Assembly ; 
but  if  it  lias  rendered  the  King  inviolable  for  the  constituted 
bodies,  it  cannot  have  rendered  him  inviolable  for  itself,  for  it 
never  can  renounce  the  faculty  of  doing  and  willing  anything 
at  all  times.  This  faculty  constitutes  its  omnipotence,  which 
is  inalienable.  The  nation  therefore  cannot  have  bound  itself 
in  regard  to  Louis  XVI.,  and  it  cannot  be  met  with  an  engage- 
ment which  it  had  not  the  power  to  make. 

"  Sec<  mdly.  even  supposing  the  engagement  possible,  it  would 
be  requisite  that  it  should  be  reciprocal.  Now,  it  never  lias 
been  so  on  the  part  of  Louis  XVI.  That  constitution  on 
which  he  now  wishes  to  support  himself  he  never  liked,  he 
always  protested  against;  he  has  continually  laboured  to  de- 
stroy it,  not  only  by  internal  conspiracies,  but  by  the  sword 
of  enemies.      AY  hat  right  has  he  then  to  avail  himself  of  it? 

"Let  us  even  admit  the  engagement  as  possible  and  re- 
ciprocal ;  it  is  further  requisite,  in  order  that  it  should  have 
any  validity,  that  it  be  not  absurd.  Thus  we  can  readily  con- 
ceive 1  lie  inviolability  which  applies  to  all  the  ostensible  acts 
for  which  a  minister  is  responsible  instead  of  the  King.  For 
all  arts  <>f  Ihis  kind  there  exists  a  guarantee  in  the  ministerial 
responsibility;  and  inviolability,  not  being  impunity,  ceases  to 
be  absurd.  J5ut  for  all  secret  acts,  such  as  underhand  machi- 
nations, correspondence  with  the  enemy,  in  short,  treason,  is 
there  a,  minister  at  hand  to  countersign  and  to  be  responsible  ? 
And  should  these  latter  acts  nevertheless  pass  unpunished, 
though  the    most  important   and  the    most  culpable   of  all? 


160  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

This  is  inadmissible,  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the 
King,  inviolable  for  the  acts  of  his  administration,  ceases  to 
be  so  for  the  secret  and  criminal  acts  which  attack  the  public 
safety.  Thus  a  deputy,  inviolable  for  his  legislative  functions, 
an  ambassador  for  his  diplomatic  functions,  are  not  so  for  all 
the  other  acts  of  their  private  life.  Inviolability  therefore 
has  limits,  and  there  are  points  at  which  the  person  of  the 
King  ceases  to  be  unassailable.  Will  it  be  urged  that  for- 
feiture of  the  throne  is  the  penalty  pronounced  against  per- 
fidies for  which  a  minister  is  not  responsible  ?  That  is  to  say, 
is  the  mere  privation  of  power  the  only  punishment  to  be 
inflicted  on  the  monarch  for  having  so  atrociously  abused  it? 
Shall  the  people  whom  he  has  betrayed,  given  up  to  the  sword 
of  foreigners,  and  to  every  scourge  at  once,  do  no  more  than 
say  to  him,  '  Get  you  gone  ?  '  This  would  be  an  illusory  justice, 
and  a  nation  cannot  fail  so  egregiously  in  its  duty  to  itself  as 
to  leave  unpunished  the  crime  committed  against  its  existence 
and  its  liberty. 

"There  is  required,"  added  the  same  speakers,  "there  is 
indeed  required  a  known  punishment,  enacted  by  an  anterior 
law,  before  it  can  be  applied  to  a  crime.  But  are  there  not 
the  ordinary  penalties  against  treason  ?  Are  not  these  penalties 
alike  in  all  codes  ?  Is  not  the  monarch  forewarned  by  the 
morality  of  all  ages  and  of  all  countries  that  treason  is  a 
crime  ;  and  by  the  legislature  of  all  nations  that  this  crime  is 
punished  with  the  most  terrible  of  punishments  ?  Besides  a 
penal  law,  there  must  be  a  tribunal.  But  here  is  the  sove- 
reign nation,  which  unites  in  itself  all  powers,  that  of  trying 
as  well  as  that  of  enacting  laws,  and  of  making  peace  and 
war;  here  it  is  with  its  omnipotence,  with  its  universality, 
and  there  is  no  function  but  it  is  capable  of  fulfilling.  This 
nation  is  the  Convention  which  represents  it,  commissioned  to 
do  everything  on  its  behalf,  to  avenge,  to  constitute,  and  to 
save  it.  The  Convention,  then,  is  competent  to  try  Louis 
XVI.  It  possesses  sufficient  powers.  It  is  the  most  inde- 
pendent, the  most  elevated  tribunal  that  an  accused  person 
can  choose  ;  and  unless  he  needs  partisans  or  hirelings  of  the 
enemy  in  order  to  obtain  justice,  the  monarch  cannot  wish  for 
other  judges.  True,  he  will  have  the  same  men  for  accusers 
and  judges.  But  if  in  the  ordinary  tribunals,  exposed  in  a 
lower  sphere  to  individual  and  particular  causes  of  error,  the 
functions  are  separated,  and  care  has  been  taken  that  the 
accusation  shall  have  other  judges  than  those  who  have  sup- 
ported it,  in  the  general  council  of  the  nation,  which  is  placed 
above  all  individual  interests  and  motives,  the  same  precautions 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 6 1 

are  not  necessary.  The  nation  can  do  no  wrong,  and  the 
deputies  who  represent  it  partake  of  its  inviolability  and  its 
powers. 

"Thus."  proceeded  the  adversaries  of  the  inviolability,  "the 
engagement  contracted  in  1791  being  incapable  of  binding 
the  national  sovereignty,  that  engagement  being  without  any 
reciprocity,  and  containing,  moreover,  an  absurd  clause,  that  of 
allowing  treason  to  pass  unpunished,  is  absolutely  null,  and 
Louis  XVI.  can  be  put  upon  his  trial.  With  respect  to  the 
punishment,  it  has  been  known  in  all  ages,  it  is  specified  in 
all  laws.  As  for  the  tribunal,  it  is  in  the  Convention,  invested 
with  all  the  powers,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial."  These 
speakers  therefore  demanded,  with  the  committee,  that  Louis 
XVI.  should  be  tried  ;  that  he  should  be  tried  by  the  National 
Convention  ;  that  a  statement  declaratory  of  the  acts  imputed 
to  him  should  be  drawn  up  by  commissioners  appointed  for 
the  purpose;  that  he  should  appear  personally  to  answer  the 
charges  ;  that  counsel  should  be  assigned  him  to  defend  him- 
self; and  that  immediately  after  he  should  be  heard,  the 
National  Convention  should  pronounce  judgment  by  putting 
the  question  to  the  vote.* 

The  defenders  of  the  inviolability  had  left  none  of  these 
reasons  unanswered,  and  had  refuted  the  whole  system  of  their 
adversaries. 

"It  is  alleged,"  said  they,  that  the  nation  had  not  the  power 
to  alienate  its  sovereignty,  and  to  interdict  itself  from  punish- 
ing a  crime  committed  against  itself;  that  the  inviolability 
enacted  in  1 79 1  bound  the  Legislative  Body  alone,  but  not  the 
nation  itself.  In  the  first  place,  if  it  be  true  that  the  national 
sovereignty  cannot  be  alienated,  and  that  it  cannot  interdict 
itself  from  renewing  its  laws,  it  is  likewise  true  that  it  has  no 
power  over  the  past.  It  cannot  therefore  make  that  which  has 
been  not  be.  It  cannot  prevent  the  laws  which  it  has  enacted 
from  having  had  their  effect,  and  that  which  they  absolved 
from  being  absolved.  It  certainly  can  for  the  future  declare 
that  monarchs  shall  be  no  longer  inviolable  ;  but  with  reference 
to  the  past,  it  cannot  prevent  their  being  so,  since  so  it  has 
declared  them  to  be.     It  cannot,  above  all,  break  engagements 

< tract i'd    with    third    persons,   towards   whom    it    became    a 

simple  party  in  treating  with  them.  Thus,  then,  the  national 
sovereignty  possessed  the  power  of  binding  itself  for  a  time. 

*  "It  was  by  means  of  a  chain  of  the  most  ingenious  sophisms  that  the 
committee  transformed  the  Convention  into  a  tribunal.  The  party  of  Robe- 
si  Hire  showed  itself  much  more  consistent  in  urging  the  only  reasons  of  State, 
and  rejecting  forms  as  illusory." — Miynct. 

vol.  ii.  39 


1 62  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

It  determined '  to  do  so  in  an  absolute  manner,  not  only  for 
the  Legislative  Body,  to  which  it  interdicted  all  judicial  action 
against  the  King,  but  also  for  itself ;  for  the  political  aim  of 
the  inviolability  would  have  been  missed  if  royalty  had  not 
been  placed  beyond  all  attack  whatever,  on  the  part  of  the 
constituted  authorities  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  the  nation 
itself. 

"  With  regard  to  the  want  of  reciprocity  in  the  execution 
of  the  engagement,  that  was  all  foreseen,"  argued  the  same 
speakers.  "The  want  of  fidelity  to  the  engagement  was  pro- 
vided for  by  the  engagement  itself.  All  the  modes  of  failing 
in  it  are  comprised  in  one  alone,  the  most  heinous  of  all.  war 
against  the  nation,  and  are  punished  by  forfeiture,  that  is  to 
say,  by  the  dissolution  of  the  contract  between  the  nation  and 
the  King.  The  want  of  reciprocity  is  not  then  a  reason  which 
can  release  the  nation  from  the  promise  of  inviolability. 

"  The  engagement  being,  then,  real  and  absolute,  common 
to  the  nation  as  to  the  Legislative  Body,  the  want  of  recipro- 
city was  foreseen,  and  cannot  be  a  cause  of  nullity.  It  will  be 
perceived,  in  short,  that  in  the  system  of  the  monarchy  this 
engagement  was  not  unreasonable,  and  that  it  cannot  be  set 
aside  on  account  of  absurdity.  In  fact,  this  inviolability  left 
not,  as  it  has  been  asserted,  any  crime  unpunished.  The 
ministerial  responsibility  extended  to  all  the  acts,  because  a 
king  can  no  more  conspire  than  govern  without  agents,  and 
thus  public  justice  always  had  something  to  lay  hold  of.  Lastly, 
those  secret  crimes,  differing  from  the  ostensible  delincpiencies 
of  administration,  were  provided  for  and  punished  by  forfeiture, 
for  every  fault  on  the  part  of  the  King  was  reduced  in  this 
legislation  to  the  cessation  of  his  functions.  Against  this  it 
has  been  argued  that  forfeiture  is  no  punishment,  that  it  is 
only  the  privation  of  an  instrument  which  the  monarch  has 
abused.  But  in  a  system  where  the  royal  person  was  to  be 
unassailable,  the  severity  of  the  punishment  was  not  the  most 
important  matter.  The  essential  point  was  its  political  result, 
and  this  result  was  attained  by  the  privation  of  power. 

"  Besides,  was  not  the  loss  of  the  first  throne  in  the  world 
a  punishment  ?  Can  a  man  without  extreme  pain  lose  a  crown, 
which  at  his  birth  he  found  upon  his  head,  with  which  he  has 
passed  his  life,  and  under  which  he  has  been  adored  for  twenty 
years  ?  To  minds  bred  to  sovereignty  is  not  this  punishment 
equal  to  that  of  death  ?  Moreover,  were  the  punishment  too 
mild,  it  is  so  agreeably  to  an  express  stipulation ;  and  an  in- 
sufficiency of  punishment  cannot  be  in  any  law  a  cause  of 
nullity.     It  is  a  maxim  in  criminal  legislation  that  the  accused 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  1 6  3 

ought  to  have  the  benefit  of  all  the  faults  of  the  legislation, 
because  the  feeble  and  disarmed  ought  not  to  be  made  to  suffer 
for  the  errors  of  the  strong.  Thus,  then,  the  engagement  being 
demonstrated  to  be  valid  and  absolute,  involves  nothing  absurd. 
No  impunity  was  stipulated  in  it,  and  treason  was  to  find  its 
punishment.  There  is  no  need,  then,  to  recur  to  the  law  of 
nature  or  to  the  nation,  since  the  forfeiture  is  already  pro- 
nounced by  an  anterior  law.  This  penalty  the  King  has 
undergone,  without  any  tribunal  to  pronounce  it,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  only  possible  form,  that  of  a  national  insurrection. 
As  he  is  dethroned  at  this  moment,  beyond  all  possibility  of 
acting,  France  can  do  nothing  more  against  him  than  take 
measures  of  police  for  his  safety.  Let  her  banish  him  from 
her  territory  for  her  own  security  ;  let  her  detain  him,  if  she 
will,  till  the  peace  ;  or  let  her  suffer  him  to  remain  in  her 
bosom !  to  become  a  man  again  by  the  practice  of  private 
life.  That  is  all  she  ought  to  do — all  she  can  do.  There  is 
no  occasion,  then,  to  constitute  a  tribunal,  to  inquire  into  the 
competence  of  the  Convention.  On  the  10th  of  August  all 
was  accomplished  for  Louis  XVI.  On  the  10th  of  August 
he  ceased  to  be  king.  On  the  10th  of  August  he  was  tried, 
sentenced,  deposed,  and  all  was  consummated  between  him 
and  the  nation." 

Such  was  the  answer  with  which  the  advocates  of  the  in- 
violability met  their  adversaries.  The  national  sovereignty 
being  understood  as  people  then  understood  it,  their  answers 
were  victorious,  and  all  the  arguments  of  the  committee  of 
legislation  were  but  laboured  sophisms,  without  frankness  and 
without  truth. 

The  reader  has  just  seen  what  was  said  on  both  sides  in 
the  regular  discussion.  But  from  the  agitation  of  minds  and 
passions  sprang  another  system  and  another  opinion.  At  the 
•Jacobins,  in  the  ranks  of  the  Mountain,  people  already  asked 
if  there  was  any  need  for  a  discussion,  for  sentence,  for  forms, 
in  short,  in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  what  they  called  a 
tyrant,  taken  with  arms  in  his  hand,  and  spilling  the  blood 
of  the  nation.  This  opinion  found  a  terrible  organ  in  the 
young  St.  -Just,*  a  cold  and  austere  fanatic,  who  at  the  age 
of  twenty  \v;is  devising  a  perfectly  ideal  state  of  society,  in 
which  absolute  equality,  simplicity,  austerity,  and  an  inde- 
structible force  should  reign.  Long  before  the  10th  of 
August  he  had  brooded  in  the  recesses  of  his  gloomy  mind 
over  this   supernatural   society,  and   he   had   arrived    through 

*  Ser  Appendix  II II. 


1 64  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

fanaticism  at  that  extremity  of  human  opinions  to  which 
Kobespierre  had  arrived  solely  by  dint  of  hatred.  New  to  the 
Revolution,  upon  which  he  had  scarcely  entered,  as  yet  a 
stranger  to  all  its  struggles,  to  all  its  wrongs,  to  all  its  crimes, 
ranged  in  the  party  of  the  Mountain  by  the  violence  of  his 
opinions,  delighting  the  Jacobins  by  the  boldness  of  his  senti- 
ments, captivating  the  Convention  by  his  talents,  still  he  had 
not  yet  acquired  popular  reputation.  His  ideas,  always  favour- 
ably received,  but  not  always  comprehended,  had  not  their  full 
effect  till  they  had  become,  through  the  plagiarisms  of  Robe- 
spierre, more  common,  more  clear,  and  more  declamatory. 

He  spoke  after  Morisson,  the  most  zealous  of  the  advocates 
for  the  inviolability ;  and  without  employing  personalities 
against  his  adversaries,  because  he  had  not  yet  had  time  to 
contract  personal  enmities,  he  appeared  at  first  to  be  indignant 
only  at  the  meannesses  of  the  Assembly  and  the  quibbles  of 
the  discussion.  "What,"  said  he,  "you,  the  committee,  his 
adversaries,  are  laboriously  seeking  forms  for  the  purpose  of 
trying  the  ci-devant  King !  You  are  striving  to  make  a 
citizen  of  him,  to  raise  him  to  that  quality,  that  you  may  find 
laws  which  are  applicable  to  him !  And  I,  on  the  contrary, 
I  say  that  the  King  is  not  a  citizen,  that  he  ought  to  be  tried 
as  an  enemy,  that  we  have  rather  to  fight  than  to  try  him, 
and  that,  telling  for  nothing  in  the  contract  which  unites  the 
French,  the  forms  of  the  proceedings  are  not  in  the  civil  law, 
but  in  the  law  of  nations." 

Thus,  then,  St.  Just  discovered  in  the  proceedings  not  a 
question  of  justice  but  a  question  of  war.  "  Try  a  king  like 
a  citizen ! "  he  exclaimed ;  "  that  word  will  astonish  cool 
posterity.  To  try  is  to  apply  the  law  ;  a  law  is  a  relation 
of  justice  ;  what  relation  of  justice  is  there,  then,  between 
humanity  and  kings  ? 

"To  reign  is  of  itself  a  crime,  a  usurpation,  which  nothing 
can  absolve,  which  a  nation  is  culpable  in  suffering,  and 
against  which  every  man  has  an  entirely  personal  right.  It 
is  impossible  to  reign  innocently.  The  madness  of  the  thing 
is  too  great.  This  usurpation  ought  to  be  treated  as  kings 
themselves  treat  that  of  their  pretended  authority.  Was  not 
the  memory  of  Cromwell  brought  to  trial  for  having  usurped 
the  authority  of  Charles  I.  ?  And  assuredly  one  was  no  more 
a  usurper  than  the  other  ;  for  when  a  nation  is  so  base  as  to 
suffer  itself  to  be  ruled  by  tyrants,  domination  is  the  right  of 
the  first  comer,  and  is  not  more  sacred,  more  legitimate,  011 
the  head  of  one  than  on  that  of  the  other  !  " 

Passing  to  the  question  of  forms,  St.  Just  discovered  in  it 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 6  5 

only  fresh  and  inconsistent  errors.  Forms  in  the  trial  are 
but  hypocrisy.  It  is  not  the  mode  of  procedure  which  has 
justified  all  the  recorded  vengeance  of  nations  against  kings  ; 
but  the  right  of  force  against  force. 

"  Some  day."  said  he,  "people  will  be  astonished  that  we, 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  were  less  advanced  than  the  Romans 
in  the  time  of  Cassar.  Then  the  tyrant  was  immolated  in 
full  Senate,  without  any  other  formality  than  twenty-three 
dagger  wounds,  and  without  any  other  law  than  the  liberty 
of  Rome.  And  now  we  set  most  respectfully  about  the 
trial  of  a  man,  the  assassin  of  the  people,  taken  in  the  very 
fact ! " 

Considering  the  question  in  a  different  point  of  view. 
without  any  reference  to  Louis  XVI.,  St.  Just  inveighed 
against  subtle  arguments  and  nice  distinctions,  which  were 
injurious,  he  said,  to  great  things.  The  life  of  Louis  XVI. 
was  nothing.  It  was  the  mind 'which  his  judges  were  going 
to  give  proof  of  that  alarmed  him.  It  was  the  measure  which 
they  were  about  to  furnish  of  themselves  that  struck  him. 
"  The  men  who  are  going  to  try  Louis  have  a  republic  to 
found,  and  those  who  attach  any  importance  to  the  just 
punishment  of  a  king  will  never  found  a  republic.  .  .  .  Since 
the  presentation  of  the  report  a  certain  wavering  has  mani- 
fested itself.  Each  approaches  the  trial  of  the  King  with 
his  own  particular  views.  Some  seem  apprehensive  of  having 
hereafter  to  pay  the  penalty  of  their  courage  ;  others  have 
not  renounced  monarchy  ;  these  dread  an  example  of  virtue 
which  would  be  a  bond  of  unity. 

"  We  all  judge  each  other  with  severity,  I  will  even  say 
with  fury.  We  think  only  how  to  modify  the  energy  of  the 
people  and  of  liberty,  while  the  common  enemy  is  scarcely 
accused  ;  and  all,  either  filled  with  weakness  or  steeped  in 
clime,  look  at  one  another  before  they  venture  to  strike  the 
first  blow. 

"Citizens,  if  the  Roman  people  after  six  hundred  years  of 
virtue  and  hatred  of  kings,  if  Great  Britain  after  Cromwell's 
death,  beheld  kings  restored  in  spite  of  their  energy,  what 
ought  not  the  good  citizens,  the  friends  of  liberty,  among 
us  to  fear  on  seeing  the  axe  quivering  in  our  hands,  and  a 
nation  on  the  very  first  day  of  its  liberty  respecting  the 
memory  of  its  fetters?  What  republic  will  you  establish 
amidst  our  private  quarrels  and  our  common  weaknesses  ! 
I  shall  never  cease  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  spirit  in  which 
the  King  is  tried  will  be  the  same  as  thai  in  which  the 
republic  shall  be  established.    The  measure  of  your  philosophy 


1 66  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

in  this  judgment  will  be  also  the  measure  of  your  liberty  in 
the  constitution !  " 

There  were,  however,  minds  which,  less  tinctured  with 
fanaticism  than  that  of  St.  Just,  strove  to  place  themselves 
in  a  less  false  position,  and  to  bring  the  Assembly  to  con- 
sider things  in  a  more  just  point  of  view.  "  Look,"  said 
Rouzet,  "  at  the  real  situation  of  the  King  in  the  constitution 
of  1 79 1.  He  was  placed  in  presence  of  the  national  repre- 
sentation for  the  purpose  of  being  a  rival  to  it.  Was  it  not 
natural  that  he  should  seek  to  recover  as  much  as  possible  of 
the  power  which  he  had  lost  ?  Was  it  not  you  who  threw 
open  to  him  these  lists,  and  called  him  to  battle  there  with 
the  legislative  power  ?  Well,  then,  in  these  lists  he  has 
been  vanquished.  He  is  alone,  disarmed,  trampled  under  foot 
by  twenty-five  millions  of  men,  and  would  these  twenty-five 
millions  of  men  be  guilty  of  such  unprofitable  baseness  as 
to  immolate  the  conquered?  Moreover,"  added  Rouzet,  "has 
not  Louis  XVI.  repressed  in  his  bosom,  more  than  any  sove- 
reign in  the  world,  that  everlasting  love  of  rule,  a  feeling 
which  fills  the  hearts  of  all  men?  Did  he  not  make  in  1789 
a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  part  of  his  authority?  Has  he  not 
renounced  part  of  the  prerogatives  which  his  predecessors 
permitted  themselves  to  exercise  ?  Has  he  not  abolished 
servitude  in  his  dominions  ?  Has  he  not  called  to  his  coun- 
cils philosophic  ministers,  and  even  those  empirics  whom  the 
public  voice  designated  to  him  ?  Has  he  not  convoked  the 
States-general,  and  restored  to  the  third  estate  a  portion  of 
its  rights  ?  " 

Fauve,  deputy  of  the  Seine-Inferieure,  had  displayed  still 
greater  boldness.  Referring  to  the  conduct  of  Louis  XVI., 
he  had  ventured  to  awaken  the  recollection  of  it.  "  The  will 
of  the  people,"  said  he,  "  might  have  dealt  severely  with  Titus 
as  well  as  with  Nero,  and  it  might  have  found  crimes  in  him, 
were  they  but  those  committed  before  Jerusalem.  But  where 
are  those  which  you  impute  to  Louis  XVI.  ?  I  have  paid  the 
utmost  attention  to  the  papers  that  have  been  read  against 
him  ;  I  find  in  them  nothing  but  the  weakness  of  a  man  who 
suffers  himself  to  be  led  away  by  all  the  hopes  held  out 
to  him  of  recovering  his  former  authority  ;  and  I  maintain 
that  all  the  monarchs  who  died  in  their  beds  were  more 
culpable  than  he.  The  good  Louis  XII.  himself,  in  sacrificing 
fifty  thousand  Frenchmen  in  Italy  for  his  own  private  quarrel, 
was  a  thousand  times  more  criminal.  Civil  list,  veto,  choice 
of  ministers,  women,  relatives,  courtiers — here  are  Capet's 
seducers  !      And    what    seducers !      I    appeal    to    Aristides, 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  167 

Epictetus— let  them  say  if  their  firmness  would  have  been 
proof  against  such  trials.  It  is  on  the  hearts  of  frail  mortals 
that  I  found  my  principles  or  my  errors.  Exalt  yourselves,  then, 
to  all  the  greatness  of  the  national  sovereignty.  Conceive  all 
the  magnanimity  that  ought  to  comport  with  such  power. 
Summon  Louis  XVI.,  not  as  a  criminal,  but  as  a  Frenchman, 
and  say  to  him,  Those  who  once  lifted  thee  upon  the  shield 
and  called  thee  their  king  now  set  thee  down  ;  thou  hast 
promised  to  be  their  father,  and  thou  hast  not  been  such.  .  .  . 
Make  amends  by  thy  virtues  as  a  citizen  for  the  conduct 
which  thou  hast  pursued  as  a  king." 

In  the  extraordinary  exaltation  of  men's  minds,  each  was  led 
to  consider  the  question  under  different  bearings.  Fauchet,* 
the  constitutional  priest,  who  had  gained  celebrity  in  1789 
for  having  used  in  the  pulpit  the  language  of  the  devolution, 
asked  if  society  had  a  right  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  death. 
"  Has  society."  said  he,  "  a  right  to  deprive  a  man  of  life, 
which  it  has  not  given  to  him  ?  It  is  its  duty,  undoubtedly, 
to  provide  for  its  own  conservation ;  but  is  it  true  that  it 
cannot  do  so  but  by  the  death  of  the  criminal  ?  And  if  it 
can  do  it  by  other  means,  has  it  not  a  right  to  employ  them? 
In  this  cause,"  added  he,  "  more  than  in  any  other,  this  truth 
is  peculiarly  applicable.  What !  is  it  for  the  public  interest, 
for  the  invigoration  of  the  nascent  republic,  that  you  would 
sacrifice  Louis  XVI.  ?  But  is  his  whole  family  to  perish  by 
the  same  stroke  that  is  to  fall  upon  him  ?  According  to  the 
system  of  hereditary  succession,  does  not  one  king  imme- 
diately step  into  the  place  of  another?  Will  you  release 
yourselves  by  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  from  the  rights  to 
which  a  whole  family  deems  itself  entitled  by  a  possession 
of  several  centuries  ?  The  destruction  of  one  only  is  therefore 
useless.  On  the  contrary,  let  the  present  head,  who  shuts  the 
door  to  all  others,  continue  to  live.  Let  him  live  with  the 
hatred  which  he  excites  in  all  aristocrats  for  his  vacillation 
and  his  concessions.  Let  him  live  with  the  reputation  of  his 
weakness,  with  the  debasement  of  his  defeat,  and  you  will 
have  less  1"  fear  from  him  than  from  any  other.  Let  this 
dethroned  king  wander  through  the  vast  extent  of  your  re- 
public without  that  train  which  attended  him  in  the  days  of 
his  grandeur;  show  how  insignificant  a  king  is  when  reduced  to 
his  own  person  ;  manifest  a  profound  disdain  for  the  remem- 
brance of  what  he  was.  and  that  remembrance  will  no  longer 
be   a   subject  of  apprehension  :   you   will   have   given    a  great 

*  Sec  Appendix  II. 


1 68  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

lesson  to  mankind  ;  you  will  have  done  more  for  the  security 
and  the  instruction  of  the  republic  than  by  spilling  blood  which 
does  not  belong  to  you.  As  for  the  son  of  Louis  XVI.,"  pro- 
ceeded Fauchet,  "  if  he  can  become  a  man,  we  will  make  him 
a  citizen,  like  young  Egalite.  He  shall  fight  for  the  republic, 
and  we  shall  have  no  fear  that  a  single  soldier  of  liberty  will 
ever  second  him  'if  he  should  be  mad  enough  to  think  of 
turning  a  traitor  to  the  country.  Let  us  thus  show  other 
nations  that  we  are  afraid  of  nothing  ;  let  us  prevail  on  them 
to  follow  our  example ;  let  all  together  form  a  European  con- 
gress, let  them  depose  their  sovereigns,  let  them  send  those 
contemptible  creatures  to  drag  on  their  obscure  lives  in  wander- 
ing through  the  republics,  and  let  them  even  allow  them  small 
pensions,  for  those  beings  are  so  destitute  of  faculties  that 
necessity  itself  would  not  teach  them  to  earn  their  bread.  Set, 
then,  this  great  example  of  the  abolition  of  a  barbarous  punish- 
ment. Suppress  that  iniquitous  way  of  spilling  blood,  and 
above  all,  wean  the  people  from  the  habit  of  spilling  it.  Strive 
to  allay  in  them  that  thirst  which  perverse  men  would  fain 
excite,  in  order  to  make  it  subservient  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
republic.  Remember  that  barbarous  men  are  demanding  of 
you  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  more  heads,  and  that  after 
you  have  granted  them  that  of  the  ci-devant  King,  you  will 
not  have  it  in  your  power  to  refuse  them  any.  Prevent  crimes 
which  would  agitate  for  a  long  time  the  bosom  of  the  republic, 
dishonour  liberty,  retard  its  progress,  and  prove  a  bar  to  the 
acceleration  of  the  happiness  of  the  world." 

This  discussion  had  lasted  from  the  13th  to  the  30th  of 
November,  and  had  excited  general  agitation.  Those  whose 
imaginations  were  not  entirely  swayed  by  the  new  order  of 
things,  and  who  still  retained  some  recollection  of  1789,  of 
the  benevolence  of  the  monarch,  and  of  the  affection  that  had 
been  felt  for  him,  could  not  comprehend  how  it  was  that  this 
King,  suddenly  transformed  into  a  tyrant,  should  be  consigned 
to  the  scaffold.  Admitting  even  his  secret  concert  with 
foreigners,  they  imputed  this  fault  to  his  weakness,  to  the 
persons  around  him,  to  the  invincible  fondness  for  hereditary 
power ;  and  they  were  shocked  at  the  idea  of  an  ignominious 
punishment.  They  durst  not,  however,  openly  take  up  the 
defence  of  Louis  XVI.  The  danger  to  which  the  country  had 
been  exposed  by  the  invasion  of  the  Prussians,  and  the  opinion 
generally  entertained  that  the  Court  had  brought  them  upon 
the  frontiers,  had  excited  an  irritation,  the  effects  of  which  fell 
upon  the  unfortunate  monarch,  and  which  nobody  durst  con- 
demn.    They  contented  themselves  with  opposing  in  a  general 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 69 

manner  those  who  demanded  vengeance.  They  characterized 
them  as  the  instigators  of  disturbances,  as  Septembrizers,  who 
wanted  to  cover  France  with  blood  and  ruins.  Without  de- 
fending Louis  XVI.  by  name,  they  recommended  moderation 
towards  fallen  enemies,  and  vigilance  against  an  hypocritical 
energy,  which,  while  appearing  to  defend  the  republic  by 
executions,  sought  only  to  rule  it  by  terror,  or  to  compromise 
it  with  the  rest  of  Europe.  The  Girondins  had  not  yet  spoken. 
Their  (pinion  was  surmised  rather  than  known,  and  the  Moun- 
tain, in  order  to  have  occasion  to  accuse  them,  asserted  that 
they  wished  to  save  Louis  XVI.  They  were,  however,  unde- 
cided in  this  cause.  On  the  one  hand,  rejecting  the  inviola- 
bility, and  regarding  Louis  XVI.  as  the  accomplice  of  foreign 
invasion  ;  on  the  other,  moved  by  the  sight  of  a  great  mis- 
fortune, and  inclined  011  every  occasion  to  oppose  the  violence 
of  their  adversaries,  they  knew  not  what  course  to  steer,  and 
maintained  an  equivocal  and  threatening  silence. 

Another  question  at  this  moment  agitated  people's  minds, 
and  produced  not  less  perturbation  than  the  preceding.  It 
related  to  the  supply  of  provisions,  which  had  been  a  great 
cause  of  discord  in  all  the  epochs  of  the  Revolution. 

We  have  already  seen  what  uneasiness  and  what  trouble 
this  subject  had  caused  to  Bailly  and  Necker  at  its  commence- 
ment in  1789.  The  same  difficulties  had  recurred,  but  with 
increased  urgency,  at  the  conclusion  of  1792,  and  had  been 
attended  with  the  most  dangerous  disturbances.  The  stagna- 
tion of  trade  in  all  articles  not  of  the  first  necessity  may 
certainly  be  injurious  to  industry,  and  eventually  to  the 
labouring  classes  ;  but  when  corn,  the  prime  necessary  of  life, 
becomes  scarce,  distress  and  disturbances  immediately  ensue. 
Accordingly  the  old  police  had,  in  the  list  of  its  duties,  ranked 
attention  to  the  supply  of  the  markets  as  one  of  the  objects 
that  most  concerned  the  public  tranquillity. 

The  corn  crop  in  1792  was  not  a  bad  one;  but  the  harvest 
had  been  retarded  by  the  weather,  and  the  thrashing  of  the 
grain  delayed  by  want  of  hands.  The  great  cause  of  the 
scarcity,  however,  was  to  be  sought  elsewhere.  In  1792.  as 
in  1789,  the  state  of  insecurity,  the  fear  of  pillage  by  the  way, 
and  the  extortions  in  the  markets,  had  prevented  the  farmers 
from  bringing  their  commodities.  An  outcry  was  instantly 
raised  againsl  forestalling.  People  inveighed  most  bitterly 
againsl  the  wealthy  farmers,  whom  they  called  aristocrats,  and 
wlmse  too  extensive  farms  ought,  they  said,  to  be  divided. 
The  greater  the  irritation  expressed  against  them,  the  less 
they    were   disposed  to   show    themselves    in   the    markets,   and 


1 7  o  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

the  more  the  dearth  increased.  The  assignats  had  likewise 
contributed  to  produce  it.  Many  farmers  who  sold  merely 
for  the  purpose  of  hoarding,  disliked  to  accumulate  a  variable 
paper,  and  preferred  keeping  their  corn.  As,  moreover,  corn 
daily  became  scarce,  and  assignats  more  abundant,  the  dis- 
proportion between  the  sign  and  the  thing  kept  constantly 
increasing,  and  the  dearth  became  more  and  more  sensibly 
felt.  By  an  accident  common  in  all  kinds  of  scarcity,  pre- 
caution being  augmented  by  fear,  every  one  wished  to  lay  in 
supplies  ;  families,  the  municipalities,  the  government,  made 
considerable  purchases,  and  rendered  provisions  still  scarcer 
and  dearer.  In  Paris  especially,  the  municipality  committed 
a  very  serious  and  a  very  old  blunder.  It  bought  up  corn  in 
the  neighbouring  departments,  and  sold  it  under  the  regular 
price,  with  the  twofold  intention  of  relieving  the  lower  classes 
and  increasing  its  popularity.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
dealers,  mined  by  this  new  rivalry,  withdrew  from  the  market, 
and  the  country  people,  attracted  by  the  low  price,  came  and 
absorbed  part  of  the  supplies  which  the  police  had  collected 
at  great  cost.  These  vicious  measures,  resulting  from  false 
economical  ideas,  and  from  an  excessive  ambition  of  popularity, 
were  destructive  to  trade,  more  especially  in  Paris,  where  it 
is  requisite  to  accumulate  a  great  quantity  of  corn  in  a  small 
space,  than  anywhere  else.  The  causes  of  the  dearth  were  there- 
fore very  numerous  ;  namely,  terror,  which  drove  the  farmers 
from  the  markets,  the  rise  in  price  occasioned  by  the  assignats, 
the  mania  for  laying  in  stores  of  provisions,  and  the  interference 
of  the  Parisian  municipality,  which  injured  trade  by  its  powerful 
competition. 

In  such  difficulties  it  is  easy  to  guess  what  course  would  be 
pursued  by  the  two  classes  of  men  who  divided  between  them 
the  sovereignty  of  France.  The  violent  spirits,  who  were  for 
putting  down  all  opposition  by  destroying  the  opposers ;  who, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  conspiracies  which  they  dreaded,  had 
sacrificed  all  those  whom  they  suspected  of  being  adverse  to 
themselves — such  spirits  could  think  of  only  one  way  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  dearth,  and  that  again  was  force.  They  pro- 
posed that  the  farmers  should  be  roused  from  their  inertness, 
that  they  should  be  compelled  to  attend  the  markets,  and  there 
sell  their  commodities  at  a  price  fixed  by  the  communes ;  that 
the  corn  should  not  be  removed  from  the  spot,  or  go  to  be 
stowed  away  in  the  granaries  of  what  were  called  the  fore- 
stalled. They  insisted,  therefore,  on  forced  presence  in  the 
markets,  a  fixed  price  or  maximum,  the  prohibition  of  all 
circulation,   and  lastly,   the   obedience    of   commerce  to  their 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 7  1 

desires,  not  from  the  ordinary  motive  of  profit,  but  from  the 
fear  of  punishments  and  death. 

Men  of  moderate  sentiments  proposed,  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  administration  should  leave  commerce  to  resume  its  course, 
by  dispelling  the  fears  of  the  farmers,  by  allowing  them  to 
fix  their  own  prices,  by  offering  them  the  inducement  of  a 
free,  sure,  and  advantageous  exchange,  and  by  permitting  the 
circulation  from  one  department  to  another,  in  order  to  accom- 
modate those  which  grew  no  corn.  They  thus  proscribed  a 
fixed  price  and  prohibitions  of  every  kind,  and  demanded,  with 
the  economists,  the  complete  freedom  of  the  trade  in  corn 
throughout  all  France.  On  the  suggestion  of  Barbaroux,  who 
was  conversant  in  such  matters,  they  recommended  that  ex- 
portation to  foreign  countries  should  be  subjected  to  a  duty, 
which  should  increase  whenever  the  prices  rose,  and  which 
would  thus  act  as  a  check  upon  the  sending  of  corn  abroad  at 
those  times  when  it  was  most  wanted  at  home.  They  demanded 
administrative  interference  solely  for  the  establishment  of  cer- 
tain markets  destined  for  extraordinary  cases.  They  were  for 
employing  severity  against  such  riotous  persons  only  as  should 
molest  the  farmers  on  the  highroads  and  in  the  markets. 
Lastly,  they  proscribed  the  use  of  punishments  in  regard  to 
trade  ;  for  fear  may  be  a  medium  of  repression,  but  it  is  never 
a  medium  of  action  ;  it  paralyzes  men,  but  it  never  encourages 
them. 

When  a  party  becomes  master  in  a  State,  it  becomes  the 
government,  forms  its  wishes,  and  contracts  its  prejudices  ;  it 
wishes  to  advance  all  things  at  any  price,  and  to  employ  force 
as  the  universal  medium.  Hence  it  was  that  the  ardent  friends 
of  liberty  had  the  predilection  of  all  governments  to  form  pro- 
hibitive systems,  and  that  they  found  adversaries  in  those  who, 
more  moderate,  desired  liberty  not  only  in  the  end  but  in  the 
means,  and  claimed  security  for  their  enemies,  deliberation  in 
the  forms  of  justice,  and  absolute  freedom  of  commerce. 

The  Girondins  therefore  were  advocates  of  all  the  systems 
devised  by  speculative  minds  against  official  tyranny.  But 
these  new  economists,  instead  of  encountering,  as  formerly. 
a  government  ashamed  of  itself  and  always  condemned  by 
public  opinion,  found  minds  intoxicated  with  the  idea  of  the 
public  welfare,  and  which  believed  that  force  employed  for 
this  end  was  but  the  energy  of  virtue. 

This  discussion  led  to  another  subject  of  severe  reproaches. 
Roland  daily  accused  the  commune  of  wasting  money  in  the 
purchase  of  provisions,  and  of  increasing  the  dearth  at  Paris, 
by  reducing  the  prices  out  of  a  vain  ambition  of  popularity. 


1 7  2  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  dec.  i  7  9  2 

The  party  of  the  Mountain  answered  Roland  by  accusing  him 
of  misapplying  considerable  sums  granted  to  his  office  for  the 
purchase  of  corn,  of  being  the  chief  of  the  forestallers,  and  of 
making  himself  the  real  dictator  of  France  by  getting  into 
his  hands  the  whole  stock  of  the  prime  necessaries  of  life. 

While  this  subject  was  under  discussion  in  the  Assembly, 
the  inhabitants  of  certain  departments,  particularly  in  that 
of  the  Eure  and  Loire,  were  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  The 
country  people,  excited  by  the  want  of  bread,  and  by  the 
instigations  of  the  cures,  upbraided  the  Convention  with  being 
the  cause  of  all  their  sufferings,  and  while  they  complained 
that  it  would  not  fix  a  maximum  price  for  corn,  accused  it 
at  the  same  time  of  an  intention  to  overthrow  religion.  It 
was  Cambon  who  furnished  occasion  for  the  latter  charge.  A 
passionate  hunter  after  savings  which  did  not  bear  upon  the 
war  department,  he  had  declared  that  the  expense  of  the 
Church  establishment  should  be  suppressed,  and  that  those 
who  wanted  mass  might  pay  for  it.  Accordingly  the  insurgents 
failed  not  to  say  that  religion  was  undone,  and  from  a  singular 
contradiction  they  reproached  the  Convention,  on  the  one  hand, 
with  moderation  on  the  subject  of  provisions,  and  on  the  other, 
with  violence  in  regard  to  the  Church. 

Two  members,  sent  by  the  Convention,  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Courville  an  assemblage  of  several  thousand 
peasants,  armed  with  pitchforks  and  fowling-pieces,  and  to 
save  their  lives  they  were  obliged  to  sign  an  order  fixing  the 
price  of  grain.  Their  compliance  was  censured  by  the  Con- 
vention. It  declared  that  they  ought  to  have  suffered  death, 
and  annulled  the  order  which  they  had  signed.  The  armed 
force  was  sent  to  disperse  the  rioters.  Thus  did  the  disturb- 
ances in  the  West  commence,  owing  to  want,  and  attachment 
to  religion. 

On  the  motion  of  Danton,  the  Assembly,  in  order  to  appease 
the  people  of  the  West,  declared  that  it  had  no  intention  to 
abolish  religion  ;  but  it  persisted  in  rejecting  the  maximum. 
Thus,  still  firm  amid  storms,  and  preserving  a  sufficient  freedom 
of  mind,  the  majority  of  the  Convention  declared  for  liberty 
of  commerce  against  the  prohibitory  systems.  If  we,  then, 
consider  what  was  passing  in  the  armies,  in  the  administra- 
tions, and  in  respect  of  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.,  we  shall 
behold  a  terrible  and  a  singular  spectacle.  Hot-headed  enthu- 
siasts wanted  to  renew  in  toto  the  composition  of  the  armies 
and  the  administrations,  in  order  to  turn  out  of  them  such 
as  were  lukewarm  or  suspected  ;  they  wanted  to  employ  force 
against  commerce,  to  prevent  it  from   standing  still,  and  to 


dec.  1 7  9  2        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 7  3 

wreak  terrible  vengeance  for  the  purpose  of  daunting  all 
enemies.  Moderate  men,  on  the  other  hand,  were  afraid  of 
disorganizing  the  armies  by  renewing  them,  of  ruining  com- 
merce by  using  constraint,  of  revolting  minds  by  employing 
terror ;  but  their  adversaries  were  irritated  even  by  these 
fears,  and  were  still  more  enthusiastically  bent  on  their 
scheme  for  renewing,  forcing,  and  punishing,  without  ex- 
ception. Such  was  the  spectacle  presented  at  this  moment 
by  the  left  against  the  right  side  of  the  Convention.* 

The  sitting  of  the  30th  had  been  very  stormy,  owing  to 
the  complaints  of  Roland  against  the  misconduct  of  the 
municipality  in  regard  to  provisions,  and  to  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  sent  into  the  department  of  Eure  and  Loire. 
Eveiything  is  recollected  at  once  when  a  person  commences 
the  catalogue  of  his  grievances.  On  the  one  hand,  mention 
had  been  made  of  the  massacres  and  of  the  inflammatory 
publications  ;  on  the  other,  of  the  vacillation,  the  relics  of 
royalism,  and  the  delays  opposed  to  the  national  vengeance. 
Marat  had  spoken,  and  excited  a  general  murmur.  Robe- 
spierre commenced  a  speech  amidst  the  noise.  "  He  was  about 
to  propose,"  he  said,  "  a  more  effective  medium  than  any  other 
for  restoring  the  public  tranquillity,  a  medium  which  would 
bring  back  impartiality  and  concord  amidst  the  Assembly, 
which  would  impose  silence  on  all  libellers,  on  all  the  authors 
of  placards,  and  sweep  away  their  calumnies."  "  What  is 
it  ?  "  inquired  a  member,  "  what  is  this  medium  ?  "  Robe- 
spierre resumed  :  "  It  is  to  condemn  to-morrow  the  tyrant  of 
the  French  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  crimes,  and  thus  to 
destroy  the  rallying-point  of  all  the  conspirators.  The  next 
day  you  will  decide  what  is  to  be  done  in  the  matter  of  pro- 
visions, and  on  the  following,  you  will  lay  the  foundations  of 
a  i'\%ee  constitution." 

This  manner,  at  once  emphatic  and  astute,  of  proclaiming 
the  means  of  national  salvation,  and  of  making  them  consist 
in  a  measure  opposed  by  the  right  side,  roused  the  Girondins, 
and  forced  them  to  speak  out  on  the  great  question  of  the 
1  rial.  ••  You  talk  of  the  King,"  said  Buzot.  "  The  fault  of  t  he 
disturbances  lies  at  the  door  of  those  who  wished  to  step  into 
his  place.  When  the  time  comes  for  expressing  my  senti- 
ments concerning  his  fate,  I  shall  do  it  with  the  severity  which 
he  has  deserved;  but  that  is  not  the  question  now.  The 
quest  ion  before  us  relates  to  the  disturbances,  and  they  proceed 
from   anarchy.     Anarchy  proceeds  from  non-execution  of  the 

*  Sec  Appendix  JJ. 


174  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

laws.  The  non-execution  of  the  laws  will  subsist  so  long  as 
the  Convention  shall  do  nothing  to  ensure  order."  Legendre  * 
immediately  succeeded  Buzot,  conjured  his  colleagues  to  abstain 
from  all  personality,  and  to  direct  their  attention  exclusively 
to  the  public  welfare  and  the  disturbances,  which  having  no 
other  object  than  to  save  the  King,  would  cease  when  he  should 
be  no  more.  He  proposed,  therefore,  to  the  Assembly  to 
direct  that  the  opinions  drawn  up  respecting  the  trial  should 
be  laid  upon  the  bureau,  printed,  and  sent  to  all  the  members, 
and  that  they  should  then  decide  whether  Louis  XVI.  ought 
to  be  tried,  without  wasting  time  in  hearing  too  long  speeches. 
Jean  Bon  St.  Andre  f  exclaimed  that  there  was  not  even  need 
for  these  preliminary  questions  ;  and  that  all  they  had  to  do 
was  to  pronounce  immediately  the  condemnation  and  the  form 
of  the  execution.  The  Convention  at  length  adopted  Legendre's 
proposal,  and  decreed  that  all  the  speeches  should  be  printed. 
The  discussion  was  adjourned  to  the  3rd  of  December. 

On  the  3rd  there  were  calls  from  all  quarters  for  the  putting 
upon  trial,  the  drawing  up  of  the  act  of  accusation,  and  the 
determination  of  the  forms  according  to  which  the  proceedings 
were  to  be  conducted.  Robespierre  asked  leave  to  speak,  and 
though  it  had  been  decided  that  all  the  opinions  should  be 
printed  and  not  read,  yet  he  obtained  permission,  because  he 
meant  to  speak  not  concerning  the  proceedings,  but  against 
any  proceedings  at  all,  and  for  a  condemnation  without  trial. 

He  insisted  that  to  commence  a  process  was  to  open  a 
deliberation  ;  that  to  admit  of  deliberation  was  to  admit  of 
doubt,  and  even  of  a  solution  favourable  to  the  accused.  Now, 
to  make  the  guilt  of  Louis  XVI.  problematical  was  to  accuse 
the  Parisians,  the  federalists,  in  short,  all  the  patriots  who  had 
achieved  the  revolution  of  the  10th  of  August.  It  was  to 
absolve  Louis  XVI.,  the  aristocrats,  the  foreign  powers  and 
their  manifestoes.  It  was,  in  one  word,  to  declare  royalty 
innocent,  and  the  republic  guilty. 

"  Observe,  too,"  continued  Robespierre,  "  what  audacity  the 
enemies  of  liberty  have  acquired  since  you  have  proposed  to 
yourselves   this    doubt.       In    the    month    of   August  last  the 

*  "  The  revolutionary  life  of  Legendre  is  more  original  than  one  would  suppose, 
when  considered  from  the  time  of  his  connection  with  the  Lameths.  His  drinking 
tea,  at  the  house  of  Miraheau  and  Robert  de  Paris,  with  Orleans ;  the  twenty  or 
thirty  soldiers  whom  he  received  at  his  house  ;  his  intimacy  with  Marat  and 
Danton  ;  his  behaviour  on  the  death  of  the  latter ;  the  part  he  played  in  the 
Mountaineer  faction  and  the  Jacobin  society  ;  the  defence  he  would  have  afforded 
Robespierre  by  interposing  his  own  body  ;  and  his  fetching  the  keys  to  shut  up 
the  hall  of  the  Jacobins — form  a  string  of  events  which  show  a  man  not  wholly 
incapable,  and  of  singular  versatility  of  character." — Prudhomme. 

t  See  Appendix  KK. 


dec.  1 7  9  2        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  i  7  5 

King's  partisans  hid  themselves.  Whoever  had  dared  to 
undertake  his  apology  would  have  been  punished  as  a  traitor. 
.  .  .  Now  they  lift  up  their  audacious  heads  with  impunity  ; 
now  insolent  writings  inundate  Paris  and  the  departments ; 
armed  men,  men  brought  within  these  walls,  unknown  to 
you,  and  contrary  to  the  laws,  have  made  this  city  ring  with 
seditious  cries,  and  are  demanding  the  impunity  of  Louis  XVI. 
All  that  you  have  left  to  do  is  to  throw  open  this  place  to  those 
who  are  already  canvassing  for  the  honour  of  defending  him. 
Wlat  do  I  say? — this  very  day  Louis  divides  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people.  They  are  speaking  for  or  against  him. 
Two  months  ago  who  could  have  suspected  that  here  the  ques- 
tion would  be  raised  whether  he  is  inviolable  ?  But,"  added 
Kobespierre,  "  since  citizen  Petion  has  submitted  as  a  serious 
question,  and  one  that  ought  to  be  separately  discussed,  the 
question  whether  the  King  could  be  tried,  the  Doctrines  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  have  again  made  their  appearance 
here.  0  crime  !  0  shame  !  The  tribune  of  the  French  people 
has  rung  with  the  panegyric  of  Louis  XVI. !  We  have  heard 
the  virtues  and  the  beneficence  of  the  tyrant  extolled.  While 
we  have  had  the  greatest  difficulty  to  screen  the  best  citizens 
from  the  injustice  of  a  precipitate  decision,  the  cause  of  the 
tyrant  alone  is  so  sacred  that  it  cannot  be  discussed  either  at 
too  great  length  or  with  too  much  freedom  !  If  we  may  credit 
his  apologists,  the  trial  will  last  several  months  ;  it  will  con- 
tinue till  next  spring,  when  the  despots  are  to  make  a  general 
attack  upon  us.  And  what  a  career  opened  to  conspirators  ! 
.   .   .  what  food  given  to  intrigue  and  aristocracy  !  .   .   . 

"  Just  Heaven !  the  ferocious  hordes  of  despotism  are  pre- 
paring to  rend  afresh  the  bosom  of  our  country  in  the  name  of 
Louis  XVI. !  Louis  XVI.  is  still  fighting  against  us  from  the 
recesses  of  his  prison,  and  we  doubt  whether  he  is  guilty, 
whether  it  is  right  to  treat  him  as  an  enemy  !  We  ask  what 
are  the  laws  which  condemn  him  !  We  invoke  the  constitution 
in  his  behalf!  The  constitution  forbade  what  you  have  done; 
if  he  could  bo  punished  by  deposition  only,  you  could  not  have 
pronounced  it  without  trying  him  ;  you  have  no  right  to  keep 
him  in  prison  ;  he  has  a  right  to  demand  damages  and  his  en- 
largement. The  constitution  condemns  you.  Throw  yourself 
at  the  feet  of  Louis  and  implore  his  clemency  ! " 

These  declamations,  full  of  gall,  which  contained  nothing 
that  St.  Just  had  not  already  said,  nevertheless  produced  a 
profound  sensation  in  the  Assembly,  which  was  for  coming  to 
an  immediate  determination.  Robespierre  had  demanded  that 
Louis  XVI.  should  be  tried  forthwith:  hut    Petion  and  several 


176  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

other  members  insisted  that  before  the  form  of  the  proceedings 
was  fixed,  the  putting  upon  trial  should  at  least  be  pronounced  ; 
for  that,  they  asserted,  was  an  indispensable  preliminary,  with 
whatever  celerity  they  might  wish  that  proceeding  to  be  carried 
through.  Robespierre  desired  to  speak  again,  and  seemed  de- 
tei'mined  to  be  heard ;  but  his  insolence  was  offensive,  and  he 
was  forbidden  the  tribune.  The  Assembly  at  length  (December 
3rd)  passed  the  following  decree  : — 

"The  National  Convention  declares  that  Louis  XVI.  shall  be 
tried  by  it." 

On  the  4th  the  forms  of  the  trial  were  taken  into  considera- 
tion. Buzot,  who  had  heard  a  great  deal  said  about  royalism, 
claimed  permission  to  speak  upon  a  motion  of  order,  and  to 
obviate,  as  he  said,  all  suspicion,  he  demanded  the  punishment 
of  death  against  any  one  who  should  propose  the  re-establish- 
ment of  royalty  in  France.  Such  are  the  means  frequently 
adopted  by  parties  to  prove  that  they  are  incapable  of  what  is 
laid  to  their  charge.  This  useless  motion  was  hailed  with 
numerous  plaudits ;  but  the  party  of  the  Mountain,  who, 
according  to  their  system,  ought  not  to  have  offered  any  im- 
pediment, opposed  it  out  of  spleen.  Bazire  desired  to  be  heard 
against  it.  Cries  of  Vote  !  Vote  !  ensued.  Philipeaux,  joining 
Bazire,  proposed  that  they  should  not  attend  to  any  other 
subject  than  Louis  XVI.,  and  that  they  should  hold  a  per- 
manent sitting  till  his  trial  was  over.  It  was  then  asked  what 
motive  the  opposers  of  Buzot's  proposition  had  for  rejecting  it, 
for  there  was  none  who  could  regret  royalty.  Lejeune. replied, 
that  it  was  reviving  a  question  which  had  been  decided  at  the 
time  when  royalty  was  abolished.  "  But,"  said  Bewbel,*  "the 
point  under  consideration  is  the  addition  of  a  penal  clause  to 
the  decree  of  abolition.  It  is  not  therefore  reviving  a  question 
which  has  already  been  decided." 

Merlin,  more  clumsy  than  his  predecessors,  moved  an  amend- 
ment, and  proposed  to  make  one  exception  to  the  punishment 
of  death,  namely,  in  case  the  proposal  for  the  re-establishment 
of  royalty  should  be  brought  forward  in  the  primary  assemblies. 
At  these  words  cries  arose  from  all  quarters.  "  There  !  "  it 
was  said,  "  the  secret  is  out !  They  want  a  king,  but  one  taken 
from  among  the  primary  assemblies,  from  which  Marat,  Robe- 
spierre, and  Danton  have  sprung."  Merlin  endeavoured  to 
justify  himself  by  alleging  that  he  meant  to  pay  homage  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people.  He  was  silenced  by  being  told  that 
he  was  a  royalist,  and  it  was  proposed  to  call  him  to  order. 

*  See  Appendix  LL. 


dec.  1 7  9  2        TEE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 7  7 

Guadet,  with  an  insincerity  which  the  most  honourable  men 
sometimes  carry  into  a  rancorous  debate,  insisted  that  the 
Assembly  ought  to  respect  the  freedom  of  opinion,  to  which  it 
owed  the  discovery  of  an  important  secret,  and  which  furnished 
a  key  to  a  great  machination.  "The  Assembly,"  he  added, 
"  ought  not  to  regret  having  heard  this  amendment,  which 
demonstrates  to  it  that  a  new  despotism  was  intended  to  suc- 
ceed the  despotism  which  had  been  destroyed,  and  we  ought 
to  thank  Merlin  instead  of  calling  him  to  order."  An  explosion 
of  murmurs  succeeded  the  speech  of  Guadet.  Bazire,  Merlin, 
Robespierre,  cried  out  against  calumny  ;  and  it  is  quite  true 
that  the  charge  of  a  design  to  substitute  a  plebeian  king  in- 
stead of  the  dethroned  monarch  was  just  as  absurd  as  that  of 
federalism  preferred  against  the  Girondins.  The  Assembly  at 
length  decreed  the  penalty  of  death  against  any  one  who  should 
propose  the  restoration  of  royalty  in  France  under  any  deno- 
mination whatever. 

The  consideration  of  the  forms  of  the  trial  and  the  proposal 
for  a  permanent  sitting  was  then  resumed.  Robespierre  again 
insisted  that  judgment  should  be  immediately  pronounced. 
Petion,  still  victorious  through  the  support  of  the  majority, 
induced  the  Assembly  to  determine  that  the  sitting  should  not 
be  permanent,  that  the  judgment  should  not  be  instantaneous, 
but  that  setting  aside  all  other  business,  the  Assembly  should 
devote  its  exclusive  attention  to  this  subject  from  eleven  till 
six  o'clock  every  day. 

The  following  days  were  occupied  by  the  reading  of  the 
papers  found  at  Laporte's,  and  others  more  recently  discovered 
in  the  palace  in  a  secret  closet  which  the  King  had  directed  to 
be  constructed  in  a  wall.  The  door  was  of  iron,  whence  it  was 
afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  the  Iron  Chest.  The  work- 
man em  ployed  to  construct  it  gave  information  of  the  circum- 
stance to  Roland,  who,  being  anxious  to  ascertain  the  truth  of 
the  statement,  had  the  imprudence  to  hasten  to  the  spot  un- 
accompanied by  witnesses  selected  from  the  Assembly,  which 
gave  his  enemies  occasion  to  assert  that  he  had  abstracted 
some  of  the  papers.*  There  Roland  found  all  the  documents 
relative  to  the  communications  which  the  Court  had  held  with 

*  "Roland  acled  very  imprudently  in  examining  the  contents  of  the  chest 
alone  and  without  witnesses,  instead  of  calling  in  the  commissioners  who  were 
in  tin-  palace  at  the  time.  One  document  of  importance  was  found,  which  the 
Jacobins  turned  into  an  implement  against  the  Girondins.  It  was  an  overture 
from  that  party  addressed  to  Louis  XVI.  shortly  before  the  10th  of  August, 
engaging  to  oppose  the  motion  for  his  forfeiture,  provided  he  would  recall  to  his 
councils  the  three  discarded  ministers  of  the  Girondin  party." — Scott's  Lift  of 
Napoleon. 

vol..  11.  40 


1 7  8  HISTOR  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

the  emigrants  and  with  different  members  of  the  Assemblies. 
The  negotiations  with  Mirabean  were  there  detailed,  and  the 
memory  of  the  great  orator  was  about  to  be  proscribed,  when, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Manuel,  his  passionate  admirer,  the  com- 
mittee of  public  instruction  was  directed  to  make  a  more 
minute  examination  of  these  documents.  A  commission  was 
afterwards  appointed  to  draw  up  from  these  papers  a  declara- 
tion of  the  facts  imputed  to  Louis  XVI.  This  declaration 
when  prepared  was  to  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  the 
Assembly.  Louis  XVI.  was  then  to  appear  in  person  at  the 
bar  of  the  Convention,  and  to  be  interrogated  by  the  president 
upon  every  article  of  the  declaration.  After  this  examination 
two  days  were  to  be  allowed  for  his  defence,  and  on  the 
following  day  judgment  was  to  be  pronounced  by  the  vote. 
The  executive  power  was  directed  to  take  all  necessary  mea- 
sures for  ensuring  the  public  tranquillity  during  the  passage 
of  the  King  to  and  from  the  Assembly.  These  arrangements 
were  decreed  on  the  9th. 

On  the  10th  the  declaration  was  presented  to  the  Assembly, 
and  the  appearance  of  Louis  XVI.  was  fixed  for  the  following 
day,  December  the  I  ith.* 

The  unfortunate  monarch  was  thus  about  to  appear  before 
the  National  Convention,  and  to  undergo  an  examination  con- 
cerning all  the  acts  of  his  reign.  This  intelligence  had  reached 
Clery  by  the  secret  means  of  correspondence  which  he  had 
secured  outside  the  prison,  and  it  was  with  trembling  that  he 
imparted  it  to  the  disconsolate  family.  Not  daring  t©  tell  the 
King  himself,  he  had  communicated  it  to  Madame  Elizabeth, 
and  had  moreover  informed  her  that  during  the  trial  the 
commune  had  determined  to  separate  Louis  XVI.  from  his 
family.  He  agreed  with  the  Princess  upon  a  method  of  cor- 
responding during  this  separation.  This  method  consisted  in 
a  handkerchief  which  Clery,  who  was  to  remain  with  the  King, 
was  to  transmit  to  the  Princesses  if  Louis  XVI.  should  be  ill. 
This  was  all  that  the  unfortunate  prisoners  could  calculate 
upon  communicating  to  one  another.  The  King  was  apprized 
by  his  sister  of  his  speedily  required  appearance,  and  of  the 
separation  which  they  were  to  undergo  during  the  trial.  He 
received  the  tidings  with  perfect  resignation,  and  prepared  to 
encounter  with  firmness  that  painful  scene. 

*  "  Early  on  that  day,  the  Dauphin,  who  often  prevailed  on  his  Majesty  to 
play  a  game  of  Siam  with  him,  was  so  pressing,  that  the  King,  in  spite  of  his 
situation,  could  not  refuse  him.  The  young  Prince  lost  every  game,  and  twice 
lie  could  get  no  farther  than  sixteen.  '  Whenever,'  cried  he,  in  a  little  pet,  '  I  get 
to  the  point  of  sixteen,  I  am  sure  not  to  win  the  game.'  The  King  said  nothing, 
but  he  seemed  to  feel  the  singular  coincidence  of  the  words." — Clery. 


dec.  1 7  9  2        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 7  9 

The  commune  had  given  directions  that  early  in  the  morning 
of  the  nth  all  the  administrative  bodies  should  meet;  that  all 
the  sections  should  be  under  arms ;  that  the  guard  of  all  the 
public  places,  chests,  depots,  &c,  should  be  augmented  by  two 
hundred  men  for  each  post ;  that  numerous  reserves  should  be 
stationed  at  different  points,  with  a  strong  artillery  ;  and  that 
an  escort  of  picked  men  should  accompany  the  carriage. 

Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  I  ith,  the  gdndrale 
announced  to  the  capital  this  novel  and  melancholy  scene. 
Numerous  troops  surrounded  the  Temple,  and  the  din  of  arms 
and  the  tramp  of  horses  reached  the  prisoners,  who  affected 
ignorance  of  the  cause  of  all  this  bustle.  At  nine  in  the 
morning  the  family  repaired  as  usual  to  the  King's  apartment 
to  breakfast.  The  municipal  officers,  more  vigilant  than  ever, 
prevented  by  their  presence  any  outpouring  of  affection.  The 
family  was  at  length  separated.  In  vain  the  King  desired  that 
his  son  should  be  left  with  him  for  a  few  moments.  In  spite 
of  his  entreaties  the  young  Prince  was  taken  away,  and  he 
remained  alone  for  about  two  hours.*  The  mayor  of  Paris 
and  the  procurevr  of  the  commune  then  arrived,  and  communi- 
cated to  him  the  decree  of  the  Convention  summoning  him  to 
its  bar  by  the  name  of  Louis  Capet.  "  Capet,"  replied  the 
Prince,  "  was  the  name  of  one  of  my  ancestors ;  but  it  is  not 
mine."  He  then  rose,  and  entered  the  carriage  of  the  mayor, 
which  was  waiting  for  him.  Six  hundred  picked  men  sur- 
rounded the  vehicle.  It  was  preceded  by  three  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  followed  by  three  more.  A  numerous  body  of  cavalry 
formed  the  advanced  and  the  rear  guard.  A  great  concourse 
of  people  surveyed  in  silence  this  sad  cavalcade,  and  suffered 
this  rigour  as  it  had  long  submitted  to  that  of  the  old  govern- 
ment.    There  were   some   shouts,  but  very  few.     The  Prince 

*  "At  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  King  was  hearing  the  Dauphin  read,  two  muni- 
cipal officers  walked  in,  and  told  Ids  Majesty  that  they  were  come  to  carry  the 
young  Louis  to  his  mother.  The  King  desired  to  know  why  he  was  taken  away  ; 
the  commissioners  replied  that  they  were  executing  the  orders  of  the  council  of 
the  commune.  The  King  tenderly  embraced  his  son,  and  charged  me  to  conduct 
him.  On  my  return  I  assured  his  Majesty  that  I  had  delivered  the  Prince  to 
the  Queen,  which  appeared  a  little  to  relieve  his  mind.  His  Majesty  afterwards 
for  some  minutes  walked  about  his  room  in  much  agitation,  then  sat  down  in 
an  arm-chair  at  the  head  of  the  bed.  The  door  stood  ajar,  but  the  officer  did 
not  like  to  go  in,  wishing,  as  lie  told  me,  to  avoid  questions;  but  half  an  hour 
passing  thus  in  dead  silence,  he  became  uneasy  at  not  hearing  the  King  move, 
and  wmt  softly  in  ;  he  found  him  leaning  with  his  head  upon  bis  band,  appa- 
rently in  deep  thought.  The  King,  on  being  disturbed,  said,  'What  do  you  want 
with  me?'  'I  was  afraid,'  answered  the  officer,  '  that  you  were  unwell.'  'I  am 
obliged  to  you,'  replied  the  King,  in  an  accent  replete  with  anguish,  'but  the 
manner  in  which  they  have  taken  my  son  from  me  cuts  me  to  the  heart.'  The 
municipal  ofticcr  withdrew  without  saying  a  word." — Clery. 


180  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

was  not  moved  by  them,  and  calmly  conversed  upon  the  objects 
that  presented  themselves  on  the  way.  Having  arrived  at  the 
Feuillans,  he  was  placed  in  a  room  to  await  the  orders  of  the 
Assembly. 

During  this  interval  several  motions  were  made  relative  to 
the  manner  in  which  Louis  XVI.  should  be  received.  It  was 
proposed  that  no  petition  should  be  heard,  that  no  deputy 
should  be  allowed  to  speak,  that  no  token  of  approbation  or 
disapprobation  should  be  given  to  the  King.  "  We  must  awe 
him,"  said  Legendre,  "by  the  silence  of  the  grave."  Murmurs 
condemned  these  cruel  words.  Defermont  proposed  that  a  seat 
should  be  provided  for  the  accused.  This  motion  was  deemed 
too  just  to  be  put  to  the  vote,  and  a  seat  was  placed  at  the 
bar.  Out  of  a  ridiculous  vanity,  Manuel  proposed  to  discuss 
the  question  on  the  order  of  the  day,  that  they  might  not 
appear  to  be  wholly  occupied  with  the  King,  even  though,  he 
added,  they  should  make  him  wait  at  the  door.  They  began 
accordingly  to  discuss  a  law  concerning  the  emigrants. 

At  length  Santerre  communicated  the  arrival  of  Louis  XVI. 
Barrere  was  president.  "Citizens,"  said  he,  "the  eyes  of 
Europe  are  upon  you.  Posterity  will  judge  you  with  inflexible 
severity ;  preserve,  then,  the  dignity  and  the  dispassionate 
coolness  befitting  judges.  Recollect  the  awful  silence  which 
accompanied  Louis  when  brought  back  from  Varennes." 

It  was  about  half-past  two  when  Louis  appeared  at  the  bar. 
The  mayor  and  Generals  Santerre  and  Wittengoff  were  at  his 
side.  Profound  silence  pervaded  the  Assembly.  All  were 
touched  by  the  dignity  of  Louis,  by  the  composure  of  his  looks, 
under  so  great  a  reverse  of  fortune.  The  deputies  of  the 
centre  and  the  Girondins  were  deeply  affected.  Even  St.  Just, 
Marat,  and  Robespierre  felt  their  fanaticism  fail  them,  and 
were  astonished  to  find  a  man  in  the  King  whose  execution 
they  demanded. 

"  Be  seated,"  *  said  Barrere  to  Louis,  "  and  answer  the 
questions  that  shall  be  put  to  you."  Louis  seated  himself, 
and  listened  to  the  reading  of  the  acte  dnonciatif ,  article  by 

*  "When  the  president,  Barrere,  said  to  his  King,  'Louis,  asseyez-vous,'  we 
feel  more  indignation  even  than  when  he  is  accused  of  crimes  which  he  never 
committed.  One  must  have  sprung  from  the  very  dust  not  to  respect  past  obli- 
gations, particularly  when  misfortune  has  rendered  them  sacred  ;  and  vulgarity 
joined  to  crime  inspires  us  with  as  much  contempt  as  horror." — Madame  de  Stael. 

"  Barrere  escaped  during  the  different  ebullitions  of  the  Revolution,  because 
he  was  a  man  without  principle  or  character,  who  changed  and  adapted  himself 
to  every  side.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  man  of  talent,  but  I  did  not 
find  him  so.  I  employed  him  to  write,  but  he  displayed  no  ability.  He  used 
many  flowers  of  rhetoric,  but  no  solid  argument." — Napoleon's  Conversations 
with  O'Mcara, 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  R  E  VOL  UTION.  1 8 1 

article.  All  the  faults  of  the  Court  were  there  enumerated, 
and  imputed  to  Louis  XVI.  personally.  He  was  charged  with 
the  interruption  of  the  sittings  of  the  20th  of  June  1789*  with 
the  bed  of  justice  held  on  the  23rd  of  the  same  month,  the 
aristocratic  conspiracy  thwarted  by  the  insurrection  of  the 
14th  of  July,  the  entertainments  of  the  life-guards,  the  insults 
offered  to  the  national  cockade,  the  refusal  to  sanction  the 
declaration  of  rights,  as  well  as  several  constitutional  articles  ; 
lastly,  all  the  facts  which  indicated  a  new  conspiracy  in 
October,  and  which  were  followed  by  the  scenes  of  the  5th 
and  6th  ;  the  speeches  of  reconciliation  which  had  succeeded 
all  these  scenes,  and  which  promised  a  change  that  was  not 
sincere;  the  false  oath  taken  at  the  Federation  of  the  14th  of 
July ;  the  secret  practices  of  Talon  and  Mirabeau  to  effect  a 
counter-revolution  ;  the  money  spent  in  bribing  a  great  number 
of  deputies  ;  the  assemblage  of  the  "  Knights  of  the  Dagger  " 
on  the  28th  of  February  1791  ;  the  flight  to  Varennes  ;  the 
fusillade  of  the  Champ  de  Mars ;  the  silence  observed  respect- 
ing the  Treaty  of  Pilnitz  ;  the  delay  in  the  promulgation  of  the 
decree  which  incorporated  Avignon  with  France  ;  the  commo- 
tions  ai  Ximes,  Montauban,  Mende,  and  Jales  ;  the  continuance 
of  their  pay  to  the  emigrant  life-guards  and  to  the  disbanded 
constitutional  guard  ;  the  insufficiency  of  the  armies  assembled 
on  the  frontiers ;  the  refusal  to  sanction  the  decree  for  the 
camp  of  twenty  thousand  men  ;  the  disarming  of  the  fortresses  ; 
the  tardy  communication  of  the  march  of  the  Prussians ;  the 
organization  of  secret  societies  in  the  interior  of  Paris  ;  the 
review  of  the  Swiss  and  the  troops  composing  the  garrison  of 
the  palace  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  August ;  the  doubling 
of  that  guard ;  the  summoning  of  the  mayor  to  the  Tuileries  ; 
and  lastly,  the  effusion  of  blood  which  had  been  the  consecpience 
of  these  military  dispositions. 

By  refusing  to  admit  as  natural  regret  for  his  former  power, 
every  point  in  the  conduct  of  the  King  was  capable  of  being 
turned  into  a  crime;  for  his  conduct  was  but  one  long  regret, 
mingled  with  some  timid  efforts  to  recover  what  he  had  lost. 
After  each  article  the  president  paused  and  said,  '"What  have 
you  to  answer  ?  "  The  King,  always  answering  in  a  firm  voice. 
denied  some  of  the  facts,  imputed  others  to  his  ministers,  and 
constantly  supported  himself  upon  the  constitution,  from  which 
he  declared  thai  lie  had  never  deviated.  His  answers  were  all 
very  temperate ;  hut  to  the  charge.  You  spilt  the  blood  of  the 
people  on  the  10th  of  August,  he  exclaimed  with  emphasis. 
"No.  Sir,  no  ;  it  was  no1  I  !  " 

All  the  papers  were  then  shown  to  him,  and  availing  himself 


1 82  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

of  a  respectable  privilege,  he  refused  to  avow  part  of  them, 
and  disputed  the  existence  of  the  Iron  Chest.  This  denial 
produced  an  unfavourable  effect,  and  it  was  impolitic,  because 
the  fact  was  demonstrated.  He  then  demanded  a  copy  of  the 
act  of  accusation  and  of  the  other  papers,  and  counsel  to  assist 
him  in  his  defence. 

The  president  signified  that  he  might  retire.  He  partook 
of  some  refreshment  provided  for  him  in  the  next  room,  and 
then  getting  into  the  carriage,  was  conveyed  back  to  the 
Temple.  He  arrived  there  at  half-past  six,  and  the  first  thing- 
he  did  was  to  ask  to  see  his  family.  This  favour  was  refused, 
and  he  was  told  that  the  commune  had  ordered  the  separation 
during  the  proceedings.  At  half-past  eight,  when  supper  was 
announced,  he  again  desired  to  kiss  his  children.  The  jealousy 
of  the  commune  rendered  all  his  keepers  hard-hearted,  and 
this  consolation  was  again  denied  him. 

The  Assembly  was  meanwhile  thrown  into  a  tumult  in  con- 
sequence of  the  application  of  Louis  XVI.  for  the  assistance  of 
counsel.  Petion  strongly  insisted  that  this  application  ought 
to  be  granted.  It  was  opposed  by  Tallien,*  Chabot,  Merlin, 
and  Billaud-Varennes,f  who  said  that  it  was  nothing  but  an 
attempt  to  delay  judgment  by  means  of  chicanery.  The 
Assembly  in  the  end  granted  counsel.  A  deputation  was  sent 
to  communicate  the  circumstance  to  Louis  XVI.,  and  to  ask 
whom  he  would  choose.  The  King  named  Target,  or  if  he 
could  not  have  him,  Tronchet,|  and  both  if  possible.  He  also 
desired  to  be  furnished  with  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  in  order  to 
prepare  his  defence,  and  to  be  permitted  to  see  his  family. 
The  Convention  forthwith  decided  that  he  should  be  supplied 
with  materials  for  writing,  that  intimation  should  be  given  to 
the  two  advocates  whom  he  had  chosen,  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  communicate  freely  with  them,  and  that  he  should 
be  allowed  to  see  his  family. 

Target  refused  the  commission  given  to  him  by  Louis  XVI., 
assigning  as  a  reason  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  discontinue 
his  practice  ever  since  the  year  1 785. §     Tronchet  immediately 

*  Sec  Appendix  JIM. 

t  "  Of  all  the  sanguinary  monsters,  observed  Napoleon,  who  reigned  in  the 
Kevolution,  Billaud  de  Varennes  was  the  worst." — Voice  from  St.  Helena. 

X  "One  of  Napoleon's  first  acts  on  becoming  First  Consul  was  to  place 
Tronchet  at  the  head  of  the  Court  of  Cassation.  'Tronchet,'  he  said,  '  was  the 
soul  of  the  civil  code,  as  I  was  its  demonstrator.  He  was  gifted  with  a  singularly 
profound  and  correct  understanding,  but  he  could  not  descend  to  developments.' 
Tronchet  died  in  1806." — Las  Cases. 

§  "Cambacercs  declared  that  Target's  example  endangered  public  morality. 
Target  attempted  in  vain  to  repair  the  disgrace  by  publishing  a  short  defence 
of  the  King." — Lacretclle. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 8  3 

wrote  that  he  was  ready  to  undertake  the  defence  com- 
mitted to  him  ;  and  while  the  Assembly  was  considering  the 
appointment  of  a  new  counsel,  a  letter  was  received  from  a 
citizen  of  seventy,  the  venerable  Malesherbes,*  the  friend  and 
companion  of  Turgot,  and  the  most  respected  magistrate  in 
France.  The  noble  veteran  wrote  as  follows  to  the  president : 
"  I  have  been  twice  called  to  be  counsel  for  him  who  was  my 
master,  in  times  when  that  duty  was  coveted  by  every  one  : 
I  owe  him  the  same  service  now  that  it  is  a  duty  which  many 
people  deem  dangerous."  He  recjuested  the  president  to  in- 
form Louis  XVI.  that  he  was  ready  to  devote  himself  to  his 
defence. 

Many  other  citizens  made  the  like  offers,  which  were  com- 
municated to  the  King.  He  declined  them  all,  accepting 
only  Tronchet  and  Malesherbes.  The  commune  decided  that 
the  two  counsel  should  undergo  the  strictest  search  before 
they  were  admitted  to  their  client.  The  Convention,  which 
had  directed  free  communication,  renewed  its  order,  and  they 
were  allowed  to  enter  the  Temple  freely.  On  seeing  Males- 
herbes, the  King  ran  forward  to  meet  him.  The  venerable 
old  man  sank  at  his  feet  and  burst  into  tears.  The  King 
raised  him,  and  they  remained  long  clasped  in  each  other's 
embrace. f  They  immediately  fell  to  work  upon  his  defence. 
Commissioners  of  the  Assembly  brought  the  documents  every 
day  to  the  Temple,  and  had  directions  to  communicate  them, 
but  not  to  let  them  go  out  of  their  possession.  The  King 
perused  them  with  great  attention,  and  with  a  composure 
which  every  time  excited  more  and  more  astonishment  in  the 
commissioners. 

The  only  consolation  which  he  had  solicited,  that  of  seeing 
his  family,  had  not  yet  been  granted  him,  notwithstanding 
the  decree  of  the  Convention.  The  commune,  continuing  to 
raise  obstacles,  had  demanded  a  copy  of  the  decree.  "It  is 
to  no  purpose  to  order,"  said  TalHen  to  the  Convention;  "if 
the  commune  does  not  choose  to  comply,  nothing  will  come 
of  it."  These  insolent  words  had  raised  a  violent  tumult. 
The  Assembly,  however,  modifying  its  decree,  ordered  thai 
the  King  should  be  allowed  to  have  his  two  children  with  him, 
butonconiliii'.n  that  they  should  not  return  to  their  mother 
till    the   liial    was    over.      The    King,   sensible    that    they  were 

*  Scr  Appendix  XN. 

t  "The  first  time  M.  Malesherbes  entered  the  Temple,  the  King  clasped  him 
in  his  anus  and  said,  'Ah,  is  it  you,  my  friend?  You  tear  not  to  endanger 
your  own  life  to  save  mine  ;  but  all  will  be  useless;  they  will  bring  me  to  the 
scaffold;  no  matter — I  shall  gain  my  cause  if  I  leave  an  unspotted  memory 
In  bind  me.'  "      llui . 


1 84  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

more  necessary  to  their  mother,  would  not  take  them  from 
her,  and  submitted  to  this  new  sorrow  with  a  resignation 
which  no  circumstances  could  shake. 

The  further  the  proceedings  advanced,  the  more  the  im- 
portance of  the  question  was  felt.  Some  were  aware  that  to 
proceed  against  ancient  royalty  by  regicide  was  to  involve 
themselves  in  an  inexorable  system  of  vengeance  and  cruelty, 
and  to  declare  war  to  the  death  against  the  old  order  of  things. 
They  would  fain  abolish  that  state  of  things,  but  they  had 
no  wish  to  destroy  it  in  so  violent  a  manner.  Others,  on  the 
contrary,  were  desirous  of  engaging  in  this  war  to  the  death, 
which  admitted  of  no  weakness,  no  turning  back,  and  placed 
an  abyss  between  the  monarchy  and  the  Revolution.  In  this 
comprehensive  question  the  person  of  the  King  was  almost 
entirely  lost  sight  of  ;  and  the  inquiry  was  confined  to  this 
one  point,  whether  they  ought  or  ought  not  to  break  entirely 
with  the  past  by  a  signal  and  terrible  act.  They  fixed  their 
eyes  on  the  result  only,  regardless  of  the  victim  upon  which 
the  stroke  was  about  to  fall. 

The  Girondins,  persevering  in  their  attacks  on  the  Jacobins, 
were  continually  reminding  them  of  the  crimes  of  September, 
and  holding  them  up  as  anarchists  who  wished  to  rule  the 
Convention  by  terror,  and  to  sacrifice  the  King  for  the  purpose 
of  setting  up  triumvirs  in  his  stead.  Guadet  well-nigh  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  them  from  the  Convention,  by  procuring  a 
decree  that  the  electoral  assemblies  of  all  France  should  be 
convoked,  in  order  to  confirm  or  to  cashier  their  deputies. 
This  proposition,  decreed  and  reported  in  a  few  minutes, 
had  exceedingly  alarmed  the  Jacobins.  Other  circumstances 
annoyed  them  still  more.  The  federalists  continued  to  arrive 
from  all  quarters.  The  municipalities  sent  a  multitude  of 
addresses,  in  which,  while  approving  of  the  republic,  and  con- 
gratulating the  Assembly  on  having  instituted  it,  they  con- 
demned the  crimes  and  the  excesses  of  anarchy.  The  affiliated 
societies  still  continued  to  reproach  the  mother  society  for 
harbouring  in  its  bosom  bloody-minded  men,  who  perverted 
the  public  morals,  and  were  ready  to  attempt  the  overthrow 
of  the  Convention  itself.  Some  of  them  denied  their  mother, 
declared  that  they  renounced  all  connection  with  her,  and 
that  at  the  first  signal  they  would  fly  to  Paris  to  support 
the  Convention.  All  of  them  particularly  insisted  on  the 
erasure  of  Marat's  name,  and  some  even  of  that  of  Robe- 
spierre also. 

The  alarmed  Jacobins  acknowledged  that  public  opinion  was 
indeed  changing  for  the  worse  in  France ;  they  recommended 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 8  5 

to  each  other  to  keep  united,  and  to  lose  no  time  in  writing 
to  the  provinces  for  the  purpose  of  enlightening  their  misled 
brethren ;  they  accused  the  traitor  Roland  of  intercepting 
their  correspondence,  and  substituting  for  it  hypocritical  papers 
which  perverted  people's  minds.  They  proposed  a  voluntary 
donation  for  circulating  good  papers,  and  particularly  the  ad- 
mirable speeches  of  Robespierre,  and  sought  means  for  trans- 
mitting them  in  spite  of  Roland,  who,  they  said,  violated  the 
liberty  of  the  post.  They  agreed,  however,  on  one  point,  that 
Marat  compromized  them  by  the  violence  of  his  writings ;  and 
it  was  necessary,  according  to  them,  that  the  mother  society 
should  declare  to  France  what  difference  it  found  between 
Marat,  whose  inflammatory  disposition  carried  him  beyond  all 
bounds,  and  the  wise  and  virtuous  Robespierre,  who,  always 
keeping  within  proper  limits,  desired,  without  weakness,  but 
without  exaggeration,  what  was  just  and  possible.  A  vehe- 
ment quarrel  ensued  between  these  two.  It  was  admitted  that 
Marat  was  a  man  of  strong,  bold  mind,  but  too  hot-headed. 
He  had  been  serviceable,  it  was  said,  to  the  cause  of  the  people, 
but  he  knew  not  where  to  stop.  Marat's  partisans  replied  that 
he  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  execute  all  that  he  had  said, 
and  that  he  knew  better  than  any  one  else  where  to  stop. 
They  cpioted  various  expressions  of  his.  Marat  had  said. 
"There  needs  but  one  Marat  in  a  republic."  "I  demand  the 
greater  to  obtain  the  less."  "My  hand  should  wither  rather 
than  write,  if  I  thought  that  the  people  would  literally  execute 
all  that  I  advise."  "I  cheat  the  people  because  I  know  that 
it  is  driving  a  bargain  with  me."  The  tribunes  had  supported 
this  justification  of  Marat  by  their  applause.  The  society, 
however,  had  resolved  to  issue  an  address,  in  which,  describing 
the  characters  of  Marat  and  Robespierre,  it  would  show  what 
difference  it  made  between  the  sound  sense  of  the  one  and  the 
vehemence  of  the  other.*  After  this  measure  they  purposed 
adopting  several  others,  and  in  particular  they  intended  to 
demand  continually  the  departure  of  the  federalists  for  the 
frontiers.  If  news  arrived  that  the  army  of  Dumouriez  was 
weakened  by  desertion,  they  cried  out  that  it  was  indispen- 
sably necessary  to  send  off  federalists  to  reinforce  it.  Marat 
wrote  that  the  volunteers  who  had  first  marched  had  been  gone 
above  a  year,  and  that  it  was  time  to  send  off  those  who  were 
sojourning  in  Paris  to  relieve  them.  Intelligence  had  just  been 
received  thai  Custine  had  been  obliged  to  give  up  Frankfort,  and 
that    Beurnonville   had   unsuccessfully   attacked  the  electorate 

*  See  Appendix  00. 


1 8 6  HISTOR  Y  OF  dec.  1792 

of  Treves  !  and  the  Jacobins  maintained  that  if  those  two 
generals  had  had  with  them  the  federalists  who  were  use- 
lessly loitering  in  the  capital,  they  would  not  have  experienced 
those  checks. 

The  various  accounts  of  the  useless  attempt  of  Beurnonville, 
and  the  check  sustained  by  Custine,  had  strongly  agitated  the 
public  mind.  Both  these  circumstances  might  easily  have  been 
foreseen,  for  Beurnonville,  attacking  inaccessible  positions  in 
an  unfavourable  season  and  without  sufficient  means,  could  not 
possibly  succeed ;  and  Custine,  persisting  in  not  falling  back 
spontaneously  upon  the  Rhine,  lest  he  should  confess  his 
temerity,  was  sure  to  be  forced  to  a  retreat  upon  Mayence. 
Public  misfortunes  furnish  parties  with  occasions  for  reproach. 
The  Jacobins,  hating  the  generals  suspected  of  aristocracy, 
declaimed  against  them,  and  accused  them  of  being  Feuillans 
and  Girondins.  Marat  did  not  fail  to  inveigh  anew  against  the 
mania  of  conquest,  which,  he  said,  he  had  always  condemned, 
and  which  was  nothing  but  a  disguised  ambition  of  the  generals 
to  attain  a  formidable  degree  of  power.  Robespierre,  directing 
the  censure  according  to  the  suggestions  of  his  hatred,  main- 
tained that  it  was  not  the  generals  who  ought  to  be  accused, 
but  the  infamous  faction  which  controlled  the  Assembly  and 
the  executive  power.  The  traitor  Roland,  the  intriguing 
Brissot,  the  scoundrels  Louvet,  Guadet,  and  Vergniaud,  were 
the  authors  of  all  the  calamities  of  France.  He  longed  to  be 
the  first  whom  they  should  murder ;  but  he  desired  above  all 
things  to  have  the  pleasure  of  denouncing  them.  Dumouriez 
and  Custine,  he  added,  knew  them,  and  took  care  not  to  class 
themselves  along  with  them  ;  but  everybody  feared  them, 
because  they  had  at  their  disposal  money,  places,  and  all  the 
resources  of  the  republic.  Their  intention  was  to  make  them- 
selves its  masters  ;  to  this  end  they  fettered  all  genuine  patriots ; 
they  prevented  the  development  of  their  energy,  and  thus  ex- 
posed France  to  the  risk  of  being  conquered  by  her  enemies. 
Their  principal  intention  was  to  destroy  the  society  of  the 
Jacobins,  and  to  butcher  all  who  should  have  the  courage  to 
oppose  them.  "And  for  my  part,"  exclaimed  Robespierre, 
"  I  desire  to  be  assassinated  by  Roland  !  "  (Sitting  of  the  12th 
of  December.) 

This  furious  hatred,  spreading  throughout  the  society,  agitated 
it  like  a  stormy  sea.  It  promised  itself  a  mortal  combat  against 
the  faction.  It  renounced  beforehand  all  idea  of  reconciliation, 
and  as  there  had  been  talk  of  a  fresh  plan  of  compromise,  its 
members  bound  themselves  never  on  any  account  to  kiss  and 
be  friends. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  EE  VOL  UTIOK  1  8  7 

Similar  scenes  were  occurring  in  the  Assembly  during  the 
time  allowed  to  Louis  XVI.  for  preparing  his  defence.  Every 
opportunity  was  seized  for  repeating  that  the  royalists  were 
everywhere  threatening  the  patriots,  and  circulating  pamphlets 
in  favour  of  the  King.  Thuriot  proposed  an  expedient,  which 
was  to  punish  with  death  any  one  who  should  conceive  the 
design  of  breaking  the  unity  of  the  republic,  or  separating  any 
portion  from  it.  This  was  a  decree  directed  against  the  fable 
of  federalism,  that  is,  against  the  Girondins.  Buzot  lost  no 
time  in  replying  by  another  decree,  and  insisted  on  the  exile 
of  the  Orleans  family.  The  parties  charged  each  other  with 
falsehood,  and  revenged  themselves  for  calumnies  by  other 
calumnies.  While  the  Jacobins  accused  the  Girondins  of 
federalism,  the  latter  reproached  the  former  with  destroying 
the  throne  for  the  Due  d'Orleans,  and  with  desiring  the 
sacrifice  of  Louis  XVI.  merely  for  the  purpose  of  rendering- 
it  vacant. 

The  Due  d'Orleans  *  lived  in  Paris,  striving  in  vain  to 
make  himself  be  forgotten  in  the  bosom  of  the  Convention. 
This  place  most  assuredly  was  not  suited  to  him,  amidst  furious 
demagogues.  But  whither  was  he  to  fly?  In  Europe  the 
emigrants  were  ready  for  him,  and  insult,  nay,  perhaps  even 
deatli,  threatened  this  kinsman  of  royalty  who  had  repudiated 
1 1  is  birthright  and  his  rank.  In  France  he  strove  to  disguise 
that  rank  under  the  humblest  titles,  and  he  called  himself 
Egalitt.  But  still  there  remained  the  ineffaceable  remembrance 
of  his  former  existence,  and  the  ever-present  testimony  of  his 
immense  wealth.  Unless  he  were  to  put  on  rags,  and  render 
himself  contemptible  by  dint  of  cynicism,  how  was  he  to  escape 
suspicion  ?  In  the  ranks  of  the  Girondins  he  would  have  been 
undone  the  very  first  day,  and  all  the  charges  of  royalism  pre- 
ferred against  them  would  have  been  justified.  In  those  of  the 
Jacobins  he  would  have  the  violence  of  Paris  for  a  support ;  but 
he  could  not  have  escaped  the  accusations  of  the  Girondins  ; 
and  this  it  was  that  actually  befell  him.  The  latter,  never 
forgiving  him  for  having  joined  the   tanks   of  their  enemies, 

*  "The  conduct  of  this  nobleman  all  through  the  Revolution  was,  in  my 
opinion,  uncalled  for,  indecent,  and  profligate,  and  his  fate  not  unmerited. 
Persons  situated  as  he  was  cannot  take  a  decided  part  one  way  or  the  other 
without  doing  violence  either  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and  justice,  or  to  all  their 
natural  sentiments;  unless  they  are  characters  of  that  heroic  stamp,  as  to  be 
raised  above  suspicion  or  temptation.  The  only  way  for  all  others  is  to  stand 
aloof  from  a  struggle  in  which  they  have  no  alternative  but  to  commit  a  parri- 
cide on  their  country  or  their  friends  ;  and  to  await  the  issue  in  silence  and  at 
a  distance.  No  confidence  can  be  placed  in  those  excesses  of  public  principle 
which  are  founded  on  the  sacrifice  of  every  private  atfection  and  of  habitual  self- 
esteem." — IlazliWs  Life  of  Napoleon. 


1 88  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

supposed  that,  to  make  himself  endurable,  he  lavished  his 
wealth  011  anarchists,  and  lent  them  the  aid  of  his  mighty 
fortune. 

The  suspicious  Louvet  thought  better  of  him,  and  sincerely- 
believed  that  he  still  cherished  the  hope  of  royalty.  Without 
sharing  that  opinion,  but  for  the  purpose  of  combating  the 
sally  of  Thuriot  by  another,  Buzot  ascended  the  tribune. 

"If,"  said  he,  '"the  decree  proposed  by  Thuriot  is  calculated 
to  restore  confidence,  I  am  going  to  propose  one  which  will  do 
so  in  no  less  a  degree.  The  monarchy  is  overthrown,  but  it 
still  lives  in  the  habits,  in  the  memory,  of  its  ancient  creatures. 
Let  us  imitate  the  Romans.  They  expelled  Tarquin  and  his 
family :  like  them,  let  us  expel  the  family  of  the  Bourbons. 
One  part  of  that  family  is  in  confinement ;  but  there  is  another, 
far  more  dangerous,  because  it  was  more  popular — I  mean  that 
of  Orleans.  The  bust  of  Orleans  was  paraded  through  Paris. 
His  sons,  boiling  with  courage,  are  distinguishing  themselves 
in  our  armies,  and  the  very  merits  of  that  family  render  it 
dangerous  to  liberty.  Let  it  make  a  last  sacrifice  to  the 
country  by  exiling  itself  from  her  bosom ;  let  it  carry  else- 
where the  misfortune  of  having  stood  near  the  throne,  and  the 
still  greater  misfortune  of  bearing  a  name  which  is  hateful  to 
us,  and  which  cannot  fail  to  shock  the  ear  of  a  free  man." 

Louvet  followed  Buzot,  and  apostrophizing  Orleans  himself, 
reminded  him  of  the  voluntary  exile  of  Collatinus,  and  exhorted 
him  to  follow  his  example.  Lanjuinais  referred  to  the  elec- 
tions of  Paris,  at  which  Orleans  was  returned,  and  which  were 
held  under  the  daggers  of  the  anarchical  faction.  He  referred 
to  the  efforts  that  had  been  made  to  appoint  a  chancellor  of 
the  house  of  Orleans  to  the  post  of  minister  at  war,  and  to 
the  influence  which  the  sons  of  that  family  had  acquired  in 
the  army ;  and  for  all  these  reasons  he  moved  the  banishment 
of  the  Bourbons.  Bazire,  St.  Just,  and  Chabot  opposed  the 
motion,  rather  out  of  opposition  to  the  Girondins  than  kind- 
ness for  Orleans.  They  maintained  that  it  was  not  the  moment 
to  persecute  the  only  one  of  the  Bourbons  who  had  conducted 
himself  with  sincerity  towards  the  nation  ;  that  they  must  first 
punish  the  Bourbon  prisoner,  then  frame  a  constitution,  and 
afterwards  turn  their  attention  to  such  citizens  as  had  become 
dangerous ;  that  at  any  rate,  to  send  Orleans  out  of  Prance 
was  to  send  him  to  death,  and  they  ought  at  least  to  defer 
that  cruel  measure.  Banishment  was  nevertheless  decreed  by 
acclamation.  The  only  point  then  was  to  fix  the  period  of 
banishment  in  drawing  up  the  decree.  "  Since  you  resort  to 
the  ostracism  against  Kgalite,"  said  Merlin,  "  employ  it  against 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 8  9 

all  dangerous  men,  and  first  and  foremost  I  demand  it  against 
the  executive  power."  "Against  Roland!  "  exclaimed  Albitte. 
"Against  Roland  and  Pache  !  "  added  Barrere,  '"who  are  be- 
come a  cause  of  dissension  among  us.  Let  them  both  be 
banished  from  the  ministry,  to  give  us  back  tranquillity  and 
union."  Kersaint.  however,  was  apprehensive  lest  England 
should  take  advantage  of  this  disorganization  of  the  ministry 
to  commence  a  disastrous  war  against  us,  as  she  did  in  1757, 
when  d'Argenson  and  Mackau  were  dismissed. 

Rewbel  asked  if  a  representative  of  the  people  could  be 
banished,  and  if  Philip  Egalite  did  not  belong  in  that  quality 
to  the  nation  which  had  deputed  him. 

These  different  observations  checked  the  excitement.  The 
Assembly  stopped  short,  reverted  to  the  original  motion,  and 
without  revoking  the  decree  of  banishment  against  the  Bour- 
bons, adjourned  the  discussion  for  three  days,  to  allow  men's 
minds  time  to  become  calm,  and  to  weigh  more  maturely  the 
question  whether  Egalite  could  be  banished,  and  whether  the 
two  ministers  of  the  interior  and  of  war  could  be  superseded 
without  danger. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  tumult  that  prevailed  in  the 
sections,  at  the  commune,  and  at  the  Jacobins,  after  this  dis- 
cussion. On  all  sides  the  ostracism  was  called  for,  and  petitions 
were  prepared,  praying  for  the  resumption  of  the  discussion. 
The  three  days  having  elapsed,  the  discussion  was  resumed. 
The  mayor  came  at  the  head  of  the  sections  to  apply  for  the 
report  of  the  decree.  The  Assembly  passed  to  the  order  of 
the  day.  after  the  reading  of  the  address  ;  but  Petion,  seeing 
what  a  tumult  this  question  excited,  proposed  its  adjournment 
till  after  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  This  sort  of  compromise  was 
adopted,  and  then  the  victim  against  whom  all  passions  were 
whetted  was  anew  assailed.  The  celebrated  trial  was  therefore 
immediatelv  resumed. 

The  time  granted  to  Louis  XVI.  for  preparing  his  defence 
was  scarcely  sufficienl  for  the  examination  of  the  immense 
mass  of  materials  npoD  which  it  was  to  be  founded.  His  two 
defenders  demanded  permission  to  associate  with  themselves  a 
third,  younger  and  more  active,  to  draw  up  and  to  deliver  the 
defence,  while  they  would  seek  and  prepare  matter  for  it. 
This  young  adjunct  was  Deseze,*  the  advocate  who  had  de- 
fended l!e/,enval  after  tin-  14th  of  -luly.  The  Convention, 
having  granted  the  defence,  did  not  refuse  an  additional 
counsel,  and  Deseze,  like  Malesherbes  and  Tronchet,  had  free 

*  Sec  Appendix  PP, 


190  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

access  to  the  Temple.  The  papers  were  carried  thither  every 
day  by  a  commission  and  shown  to  Louis  XVI.,  who  received 
them  with  great  coolness,  "just  as  if  the  proceedings  con- 
cerned some  other  person,"  said  a  report  of  the  commune.  He 
showed  the  greatest  politeness  to  the  commissioners,  and  had 
refreshments  brought  for  them  when  the  sittings  lasted  longer 
than  usual.  While  he  was  thus  engaged  with  his  trial,  he 
had  devised  a  method  of  corresponding  with  his  family.  The 
papers  and  pens  furnished  for  the  purpose  of  his  defence 
enabled  him  to  write  to  it,  and  the  Princesses  pricked  their 
answer  upon  the  paper  with  a  pin.  Sometimes  these  notes 
were  doubled  up  in  balls  of  thread,  which  an  attendant  belong- 
ing to  the  kitchen  threw  under  the  table  when  he  brought  in 
the  dishes  ;  sometimes  they  were  let  down  by  a  string  from 
one  story  to  the  other.  The  unhappy  prisoners  thus  ac- 
quainted each  other  with  the  state  of  their  health,  and  it  was 
a  great  consolation  to  them  to  know  that  they  were  all  well. 

At  length  M.  Deseze.  labouring  night  and  day,  completed 
his  defence.  The  King  insisted  on  retrenching  from  it  all 
that  was  too  rhetorical,  and  on  confining  it  to  the  mere  dis- 
cussion of  the  points  which  it  was  essential  to  urge.*  On  the 
26th,  at  half-past  nine  in  the  morning,  the  whole  armed  force 
was  in  motion  to  conduct  him  from  the  Temple  to  the  Feuillans, 
with  the  same  precautions  and  in  the  same  order  as  had  been 
observed  on  the  former  occasion.  Riding  in  the  carriage  of 
the  mayor,  he  conversed  011  the  way  with  the  same  composure 
as  usual ;  talked  of  Seneca,  of  Livy,  of  the  hospitals ;  he  even 
addressed  a  very  neat  joke  to  one  of  the  municipal  officers  who 
satin  the  carriage  with  his  hat  on.f  Arrived  at  the  Feuillans, 
he  showed  great  anxiety  for  his  defenders  ;  he  seated  himself 
beside  them  in  the  Assembly,  surveyed  with  great  composure 
the  benches  where  his  accusers  and  his  judges  sat,  seemed  to 
examine  their  faces  with  the  view  of  discovering  the  impres- 
sion produced  by  the  pleading  of  M.  Deseze,  and  more  than 
once  he  conversed,  smiling,  with  Tronchet  and  Malesherbes. 
The  Assembly  received  his  defence  in  sullen  silence,  and 
without  any  tokens  of  disapprobation. 

*  "When  the  pathetic  peroration  of  M.  Deseze  was  read  to  the  King  the 
evening  before  it  was  to  be  delivered  to  the  Assembly,  '  I  have  to  request  of' you,' 
he  said,  'to  make  a  painful  sacrifice  ;  strike  out  of  your  pleading  the  peroration. 
It  is  enough  for  me  to  appear  before  such  judges,  and  show  my  entire  innocence  ; 
I  will  not  move  their  feelings.'  " — Lacretelle. 

f  "  When  Santerre  took  the  King  to  his  trial  he  kept  on  his  hat  the  whole 
way  ;  on  which  his  Majesty  jocularly  remarked,  '  The  last  time,  Sir,  you  conveyed 
me  to  the  Temple,  in  your  hurry  you  forgot  your  hat,  and  now  I  perceive  you  are 
determined  to  make  up  for  the  omission.'  "—  ffazlitt's  Life  of  Napo'con, 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 9 1 

The  advocate  considered  in  the  first  place  the  principles 
of  law,  and  in  the  second  the  facts  imputed  to  Louis  XVI. 
Though  the  Assembly,  in  deciding  that  the  King  should  be 
tried  by  it,  had  explicitly  decreed  that  the  inviolability  could 
not  be  invoked,  M.  Deseze  very  ably  demonstrated  that  nothing 
could  limit  the  defence,  and  that  it  remained  intact  even  after 
the  decree;  that  consequently,  if  Louis  deemed  the  inviola- 
bility maintainable,  he  had  a  right  to  lay  stress  on  it.  He 
was  obliged  at  the  outset  to  admit  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people ;  and  with  all  the  defenders  of  the  constitution  of 
1 79 1,  he  insisted  that  the  sovereignty,  though  absolute  mis- 
tress, could  bind  itself  ;  that  it  had  chosen  to  do  so  in  regard 
to  Louis  XVI.,  in  stipulating  the  inviolability  ;  that  it  had 
not  willed  an  absurd  thing  according  to  the  system  of  the 
monarchy ;  that  consecpiently  the  engagement  ought  to  be 
executed  ;  and  that  all  possible  crimes,  had  the  King  been 
guilty  of  them,  could  not  be  punished  otherwise  than  by  de- 
thronement. He  asserted  that  without  this  the  constitution  of 
1 79 1  would  be  but  a  barbarous  snare  laid  for  Louis  XVI.,  since 
a  promise  would  have  been  made  him  with  the  secret  intention 
of  not  performing  it.  He  then  said  that  if  Louis  was  denied 
his  rights  as  king,  those  of  citizen  ought  at  least  to  be  left 
him  ;  and  he  asked  where  were  the  conservative  forms  which 
every  citizen  had  a  right  to  claim,  such  as  the  distinction 
between  the  jury  of  accusation  and  that  of  judgment,  the 
faculty  of  rejection,  the  majority  of  the  two-thirds,  the 
secret  vote,  and  the  silence  of  the  judges  while  forming 
their  opinion. 

He  added,  with  a  boldness  that  met  with  nothing  but  abso- 
lute silence,  that  he  sought  everywhere  for  judges,  and  found 
none  but  accusers.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  discussion  of 
the  facts,  which  he  classed  under  two  heads — those  which  had 
preceded,  and  those  which  had  followed,  the  acceptance  of  the 
const  il  iitional  act.  The  former  were  shielded  by  the  acceptance 
of  that  act;  the  latter,  by  the  inviolability.  Still  he  refused 
not  to  discuss  them,  and  he  did  so  with  advantage,  because  a 
multitude  of  insignificant  circumstances  had  been  collected,  in 
defanll  of  precise  proof  of  concert  with  foreigners,  of  which 
people  felt  persuaded,  but  of  which  no  positive  evidence  had 
yet  been  obtained.  He  repelled  victoriously  the  charge  iA' 
Bhedding  French  blood  on  the  10th  of  August.  On  that  day, 
in  fad  .  1  la;  aggressor  was  not  Louis  X  V  I ..  but  the  people.  It 
was  lawful  for  Louis  XVI..  when  attacked,  to  strive  to  defend 
himself,  and  to  take  the  necessary  precautions.  The  magis- 
trates themselves  had  approved   this  course,  and  had  given  the 


192  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

troops  a  formal  order  to  repel  force  by  force.  Notwithstanding 
this,  said  M.  Deseze,  the  King,  unwilling  to  avail  himself  of 
this  authority,  which  he  held  both  from  nature  and  the  law, 
had  withdrawn  into  the  bosom  of  the  Legislative  Body,  for  the 
purpose  of  avoiding  bloodshed.  With  the  conflict  that  followed 
he  had  nothing  to  do.  Nay,  it  ought  to  earn  him  thanks 
rather  than  vengeance,  since  it  wTas  in  compliance  with  an 
order  from  his  hand  that  the  Swiss  gave  up  the  defence  of  the 
palace  and  their  lives.  It  was  therefore  a  crying  injustice  to 
charge  Louis  XVI.  with  having  spilt  French  blood.  On  that 
point  he  had  been  irreproachable.  He  had,  on  the  contrary, 
proved  himself  to  be  full  of  delicacy  and  humanity. 

The  advocate  concluded  with  this  brief  and  just  passage  ;  the 
only  one  in  which  the  virtues  of  Louis  XVI.  were  touched  upon. 

"  Louis  ascended  the  throne  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty  he  gave  upon  the  throne  an  example  of 
morality.  He  carried  to  it  no  culpable  weakness,  no  cor- 
rupting passion.  In  that  station  he  was  economical,  just,  and 
severe,  and  proved  himself  the  constant  friend  of  the  people. 
The  people  wished  for  the  abolition  of  a  disastrous  impost 
which  oppressed  them  :  he  abolished  it.  The  people  demanded 
the  abolition  of  servitude  :  he  began  by  abolishing  it  himself 
in  his  domains.  The  people  solicited  reforms  in  the  criminal 
legislation,  to  alleviate  the  condition  of  accused  persons  :  he 
made  those  reforms.  The  people  desired  that  thousands  of 
Frenchmen,  whom  the  rigour  of  our  customs  had  till  then 
deprived  of  the  rights  belonging  to  the  citizens,  might  either 
acquire  or  be  restored  to  those  rights :  he  extended  that  benefit 
to  them  by  his  laws.  The  people  wanted  liberty  ;  and  he  con- 
ferred it.  He  even  anticipated  their  wishes  by  his  sacrifices; 
and  yet  it  is  in  the  name  of  this  very  people  that  men  are 
now  demanding — Citizens,  I  shall  not  finish — I  pause  before 
history.  Consider  that  it  will  judge  your  judgment,  and  that 
its  judgment  will  be  that  of  ages  !  " 

As  soon  as  his  defender  had  finished,  Louis  XVI.  delivered 
a  few  observations  which  he  had  written.  "My  means  of 
defence,"  said  he,  "  are  now  before  you.  I  shall  not  repeat 
them.  In  addressing  you,  perhaps  for  the  last  time,  I  declare 
that  my  conscience  reproaches  me  with  nothing,  and  that  my 
defenders  have  told  you  the  truth. 

"  I  was  never  afraid  that  my  conduct  should  be  publicly 
examined ;  but  it  wounds  me  to  the  heart  to  find  in  the  act 
of  accusation  the  imputation  that  I  caused  the  blood  of  the 
people  to  be  spilt,  and  above  all,  that  the  calamitous  events 
of  the  10th  of  August  are  attributed  to  me. 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOLUTION.  193 

"  I  confess  that  the  multiplied  proofs  which  I  have  given 
at  all  times  of  my  love  for  the  people,  and  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  always  conducted  myself,  ought  in  my  opinion 
to  demonstrate  that  I  was  not  afraid  to  expose  myself  in  order 
to  prevent  bloodshed,  and  to  clear  me  for  ever  from  such  an 
imputation."  * 

The  president  then  asked  Louis  XVI.  if  he  had  anything 
more  to  say  in  his  defence.  Louis  having  declared  that  he 
had  not,  the  president  informed  him  that  he  might  retire. 
Conducted  to  an  adjoining  room  with  his  counsel,  he  showed 
great  anxiety  about  young  Deseze,  who  appeared  to  be  fatigued 
with  the  long  defence.  In  driving  back  he  conversed  with  the 
same  serenity  with  those  who  accompanied  him,  and  reached 
the  Temple  at  five  o'clock. 

No  sooner  had  he  left  the  hall  of  the  Convention  than  a  vio- 
lent tumult  arose  there.  Some  were  for  opening  the  discussion. 
Others,  complaining  of  the  everlasting  delays  which  postponed 
the  decision  of  this  process,  demanded  the  vote  immediately, 
remarking  that  in  every  court,  after  the  accused  had  been 
heard,  the  judges  proceed  to  give  their  opinion.  Lanjuinaisf 
harboured  from  the  commencement  of  the  proceedings  an  in- 
dignation which  his  impetuous  disposition  no  longer  suffered 
him  to  repress.  He  darted  to  the  tribune,  and  amidst  the 
cries  excited  by  his  presence,  he  demanded  not  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  discussion,  but  the  annulling  of  the  proceedings 
altogether.  He  exclaimed  that  the  days  of  ferocious  men  were 
gone  by;  that  the  Assembly  ought  not  to  be  so  dishonoured 
as  to  be  made  to  sit  in  judgment  on  Louis  XVI.  ;  that  no 
authority  in  France  had  that  right,  and  the  Assembly  in 
particular  had  no  claim  to  it;  that  if  it  resolved  to  act  as  a 
political  body,  it  could  do  no  more  than  take  measures  of 
safety  against  the  ci-devant  King;  but  that  if  it  was  acting 
as  a  court  of  justice  it  was  overstepping  all  principles,  for  it 
was  subjecting  the  vanquished  to  be  tried  by  the  very  con- 
queror,  since  most  of  the  present  members  had  declared  them- 
selves the  conspirators  of  the  10th  of  August.  At  the  word 
conspirators  a  tremendous  uproar  arose  on  all  sides.  Cries  of 
Order!  To  the  Abbaye !  Down  tvith  the  tribune!  were  heard. 
Lanjuinais  strove  in  vain  to  justify  the  word  conspirators,  saying 

*  "The  example  of  Charles  I.,  who  had  proceeded  to  extremities  with  the 
Parliament,  and  lost  his  head,  prevented  Louis  on  many  occasions  from  making 
the  defence  which  he  ought  to  have  done  against  the  Revolutionists.  When 
brought  to  trial  In-  ought  merely  lo  have  said  that  by  the  law  ho  could  do  no 
wrong,  and  that  bia  person  was  sacred.  It  would  have  had  no  effect  in  saving 
his  life,  hut  he  would  have  died  with  more  dignity." — Voice  from  St.  Hi  mi. 

t  <SV'.  Appendix  QQ. 

vol..  11.  41 


194  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

that  he  meant  it  to  be  taken  in  a  favourable  sense,  and  that 
the  10th  of  August  was  a  glorious  conspiracy.  He  proceeded 
amidst  noise,  and  concluded  with  declaring  that  he  would 
rather  die  a  thousand  deaths  than  condemn,  contrary  to  all 
laws,  even  the  most  execrable  of  tyrants. 

A  great  number  of  speakers  followed,  and  the  confusion 
kept  continually  increasing.  The  members,  determined  not  to 
hear  any  more,  mingled  together,  formed  groups,  abused  and 
threatened  one  another.  After  a  tempest  of  an  hour's  duration 
tranquillity  was  at  last  restored,  and  the  Assembly,  adopting 
the  opinion  of  those  who  demanded  the  discussion  on  the  trial 
of  Louis  XVI.,  declared  that  the  discussion  was  opened,  and 
that  it  should  be  continued  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  business 
till  sentence  should  be  passed. 

The  discussion  was  therefore  resumed  on  the  27th.  The 
numerous  speakers  who  had  already  been  heard  again  appeared 
at  the  tribune.  Among  these  was  St.  Just.  The  presence  of 
Louis  XVI.  humbled,  vanquished,  and  still  serene  in  misfor- 
tune, had  caused  some  objections  to  arise  in  his  mind.  But  he 
answered  these  objections  by  calling  Louis  a  modest  and  supple 
tyrant,  who  had  oppressed  with  modesty,  who  defended  himself 
with  modesty,  and  against  whose  insinuating  mildness  it  was 
necessary  to  be  guarded  with  the  greatest  care.  He  convoked 
the  States-general,  but  it  was  with  a  view  to  humble  the 
nobility,  and  to  reign  by  causing  division.  Accordingly,  when 
he  saw  the  power  of  the  States  rising  so  rapidly,  he  strove 
to  destroy  it.  On  the  14th  of  July,  and  on  the  5th  and  6th 
of  October,  he  was  seen  secretly  amassing  means  for  crushing 
the  people ;  but  every  time  that  his  plots  were  thwarted  by 
the  national  energy  he  pretended  to  change  his  conduct,  and 
manifested  a  hypocritical  joy — a  joy  that  was  not  natural — at 
his  own  defeat  and  the  victory  of  the  people.  Subsequently, 
having  it  no  longer  in  his  power  to  employ  force,  he  plotted 
with  foreigners,  and  placed  his  ministers  in  the  most  embarrass- 
ing situation,  so  that  one  of  them  wrote  to  him,  "  Your  secret 
relations  prevent  me  from  executing  the  laws,  and  I  shall 
resign."  In  short,  he  had  employed  all  the  means  of  the  deepest 
perfidy  till  the  loth  of  August ;  and  now  he  still  put  on  a 
feigned  mildness,  to  warp  his  judges,  and  to  escape  from 
their  hands. 

It  was  in  this  light  that  the  very  natural  indecision  of  Louis 
XVI.  appeared  to  a  violent  mind,  which  discovered  a  wilful 
and  premeditated  perfidy  where  there  was  nothing  but  weak- 
ness and  regret  of  the  past.  Other  speakers  followed  St.  Just, 
and  considerable  impatience  was  felt  that  the  Girondins  should 


dec.  1792        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 9  5 

express  their  sentiments.  They  had  not  yet  spoken,  and  it 
was  high  time  for  them  to  explain  themselves.  We  have 
already  seen  how  undecided  they  were,  how  disposed  to  be 
moved,  and  how  prone  to  excuse  in  Louis  XVI.  a  resistance 
which  they  were  more  capable  of  comprehending  than  their 
adversaries.  Vergniaud  admitted,  with  a  few  friends,  how 
deeply  his  feelings  were  affected.*  The  others,  without  being 
so  sensibly  touched,  perhaps,  were  all  disposed  to  interest 
themselves  in  behalf  of  the  victim ;  and  in  this  situation 
they  devised  an  expedient  which  evinces  their  sympathy  and 
the  embarrassment  of  their  position.  That  expedient  was 
an  appeal  to  the  people.  To  rid  themselves  of  a  dangerous 
responsibility,  and  to  throw  upon  the  nation  the  charge  of 
barbarity  if  the  King  should  be  condemned,  or  that  of  royalism 
if  he  should  be  acquitted,  was  the  aim  of  the  Girondins  ;  and 
this  was  an  act  of  weakness.  Since  they  were  touched  by 
the  sight  of  the  deep  distress  of  Louis  XVI. ,  they  ought  to 
have  had  the  courage  to  defend  him  themselves,  and  not 
kindle  civil  war  by  referring  to  the  forty-four  thousand 
sections  into  which  France  was  divided,  a  cpiestion  that  was 
likely  to  array  all  the  parties  against  one  another,  and  to 
rouse  the  most  furious  passions.  They  ought  to  have  seized 
the  authority  with  a  strong  hand,  and  to  have  had  the 
courage  to  employ  it  themselves,  without  shifting  from  their 
own  shoulders  to  those  of  the  multitude  an  affair  of  which 
it  was  incapable,  and  which  would  have  exposed  the  country 
to  frightful  confusion,  f     Here  the  Girondins  gave  their  adver- 

*  "It  is  known  that  throughout  the  King's  trial  the  deputy  Vergniaud 
seemed  in  despair,  and  passed  the  whole  night  immediately  after  the  monarch's 
condemnation  in  tears ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  same  night  was  as  dreadful 
to  all  his  colleagues,  if  we  except  a  small  number  who  in  their  absurd  ferocity 
declared  in  the  National  Assembly  that  Louis  XVI.  deserved  death  for  the  single 
crime  of  being  a  king,  and  condemned  him  merely  because  they  wished  to  destroy 
royalty." — Bertrand  <lc  MoUeville. 

t  "The  Girondins,  said  Napoleon,  condemned  the  King  to  death,  and  yet 
the  majority  of  them  had  voted  for  the  appeal  to  the  people,  which  was  intended 
to  save  him.  This  forms  the  inexplicable  part  of  their  conduct.  Had  they 
wished  to  preserve  his  life,  they  had  the  power  to  do  so;  nothing  more  would 
have  been  necessary  than  to  adjourn  the  sentence,  or  condemn  him  to  exile  or 
transportation.  But  to  condemn  him  to  death,  and  at  the  same  time  endeavour 
to  make  hia  fate  depend  on  a  popular  vote,  was  the  height  of  imprudence  and 
absurdity  ;  it  was,  after  having  destroyed  the  monarchy,  to  endeavour  to  tear 
France  in  pieces  by  a  civil  war.  It  was  this  false  combination  which  ruined  them. 
Vergniaud,  their  main  pillar,  was  the  very  man  who  proclaimed,  as  president, 
the  death  of  Louis  ;  and  he  did  this  at  the  moment  when  the  force  of  their  party 
was  such  in  the  Assembly  that  it  required  several  months'  labour,  and  more  than 
one  popular  insurrection,  to  overturn  it.  That  party  might  have  ruled  the 
Convention,  destroyed  the  Mountain,  and  governed  France,  if  they  had  at  once 
pursued  a  manly,  straightforward  conduct.  It  was  the  refinements  of  meta- 
physicians which  occasioned  their  fall." — Las  Cases. 


196  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

saries  an  immense  advantage,  by  authorizing  them  to  assert 
that  they  were  fomenting  civil  war,  and  giving  them  reason 
to  suspect  their  courage  and  their  sincerity.  Hence  some  did 
not  fail  to  say  at  the  club  of  the  Jacobins,  that  those  who 
wished  to  acquit  Louis  XVI.  were  more  sincere  and  more 
estimable  than  those  who  were  for  appealing  to  the  people. 
But  such  is  the  usual  conduct  of  moderate  parties.  Behaving 
on  this  occasion  as  on  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  September,  the 
Girondins  hesitated  to  compromise  themselves  for  a  King  whom 
they  considered  as  an  enemy,  and  who,  they  were  persuaded, 
had  meant  to  destroy  them  by  the  sword  of  foreigners  ;  yet, 
moved  at  the  sight  of  this  vanquished  enemy,  they  strove 
to  defend  him,  they  were  indignant  at  the  violence  com- 
mitted in  regard  to  him.  and  they  did  enough  to  ruin  them- 
selves without  doing  sufficient  to  save  him. 

Salles.*  who,  of  all  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  lent  him- 
self most  readily  to  the  fancies  of  Louvet,  and  who  even  sur- 
passed him  in  the  supposition  of  imaginary  plots,  first  proposed 
and  supported  the  system  of  appeal  to  the  people  in  the  sitting 
of  the  27th.  Giving  up  the  conduct  of  Louis  XVI.  to  all  the 
censure  of  the  republicans,  and  admitting  that  it  deserved  all 
the  severity  that  it  was  possible  to  exercise,  he  insisted,  never- 
theless, that  it  was  not  an  act  of  vengeance,  but  a  great  political 
act  that  it  was  incumbent  on  the  Assembly  to  perform.  He 
maintained,  therefore,  that  it  was  with  reference  to  the  public 
interest  that  the  question  ought  to  be  decided.  Now,  in  both 
cases,  of  acquittal  or  of  condemnation,  he  perceived  prodigious 
inconveniences.  Acquittal  would  be  an  everlasting  cause  of 
discord,  and  the  King  would  become  the  rallying-point  of  all 
the  parties.  The  Assembly  would  be  continually  reminded  of 
his  attempts  by  way  of  reproach  for  its  indulgence :  this  im- 
punity would  be  a  public  scandal,  which  might  perhaps  occasion 
popular  commotions,  and  furnish  a  pretext  to  all  the  agitators. 
The  atrocious  wretches  who  had  already  convulsed  the  State  by 
their  crimes  would  not  fail  to  avail  themselves  of  this  impunity 
to  perpetrate  fresh  horrors,  as  they  had  availed  themselves  of 
the  listlessness  of  the  tribunals  to  commit  the  massacres  of 
September.  In  short,  the  Convention  would  be  accused  on  all 
sides  of  not  having  had  the  courage  to  put  an  end  to  so  many 
agitations,  and  to  found  the  republic  by  an  energetic  and  terrible 
example. 

If  condemned,  the  King  would  bequeath  to  his  family  all  the 
pretensions  of  his  race,  and  bequeath  them  to  brothers  more 

*  See  Appendix  RR. 


dec.  1 7  9  2        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  1 9  7 

dangerous,  because  they  were  in  less  disrepute  for  weakness. 
The  people,  seeing  no  longer  the  crimes,  but  the  punishment, 
would  perhaps  begin  to  pity  the  fate  of  the  King,  and  the 
factions  would  find  in  this  disposition  another  medium  of 
exasperating  them  against  the  National  Convention.  The 
sovereigns  of  Europe  would  keep  a  dead  silence,  awaiting  an 
event  which  must,  they  would  hope,  awaken  general  indigna- 
tion ;  but  the  moment  the  head  of  the  King  should  have  fallen, 
that  moment  all  of  them,  profiting  by  this  pretext,  would  rush 
at  once  upon  France  to  tear  her  in  pieces.  Then,  perhaps, 
France,  blinded  by  her  sufferings,  would  reproach  the  Conven- 
vention  for  an  act  which  had  brought  upon  her  a  cruel  and 
disastrous  war. 

"  Such,"  said  Salles,  "is  the  dire  alternative  offered  to  the 
National  Convention.  In  such  a  situation  it  is  for  the  nation 
itself  to  decide  and  to  fix  its  own  fate  in  fixing  that  of  Louis 
XVI.  The  danger  of  civil  war  is  chimerical ;  for  civil  war  did 
not  break  out  when  the  primary  assemblies  were  convoked  for 
the  purpose  of  appointing  a  Convention  which  was  to  decide 
upon  the  fate  of  France  ;  and  as  little  apprehension  of  it  ap- 
pears to  be  entertained  on  an  occasion  quite  as  momentous, 
since  to  these  same  primary  assemblies  is  referred  the  sanction 
of  the  constitution.  It  is  idle  to  oppose  the  delays  and  diffi- 
culties of  a  new  deliberation  in  forty-four  thousand  assemblies; 
for  the  point  is  not  to  deliberate,  but  to  choose  without  discus- 
sion between  two  courses  proposed  by  the  Convention.  Let 
the  cpiestion  be  thus  propounded  to  the  primary  assemblies  : 
•  Shall  Louis  XVI.  be  punished  with  death,  or  detained  till 
the  peace  ? '  and  let  them  answer  in  these  words :  Detained, 
or  Put  to  death.  With  extraordinary  couriers,  the  answers  may 
arrive  in  a  fortnight  from  the  remotest  extremities  of  France." 

Very  different  were  the  feelings  with  which  this  opinion  was 
listened  to.  Sevres,  deputy  of  the  Hautes  Alpes,  retracted  his 
first  opinion,  which  was  in  favour  of  judgment,  and  demanded 
the  appeal  to  the  people.  Earbaroux  combated  the  justification 
of  Louis  XVI..  without  adopting  any  conclusions,  for  he  durst 
in. f  acquit  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  his  constituents,  nor  con- 
demn against  that  of  his  friends.  Buzot  declared  for  the 
appeal  to  the  people,  but  he  modified  the  proposition  of  Salles, 
desiring  that  the  Convention  should  itself  take  the  initiative 
by  voting  for  death,  and  requiring  of  the  primary  assemblies 
the  mere  sanction  of  that  sentence.  Rabaut  Si.  Etienne,*  the 
Protestanl  minister,  who  had  already  distinguished  himself  by 

*  See  Appendix  SS. 


198  HISTORY  OF  dec.  1792 

his  talents  in  the  Constituent  Assembly,  was  indignant  at  the 
accumulation  of  powers  arrogated  to  itself  by  the  Convention. 
"For  my  part,"  said  he,  "I  am  weary  of  my  portion  of  des- 
potism. I  am  fatigued,  harassed,  tormented,  with  the  tyranny 
which  I  exercise  for  my  share,  and  I  long  for  the  moment 
when  you  shall  have  created  a  tribunal  that  shall  divest  me  of 
the  forms  and  the  look  of  a  tyrant.  You  seek  reasons  of  policy. 
Those  reasons  are  in  history.  Those  people  of  London  who 
had  so  strongly  urged  the  execution  of  the  King  were  the  first 
to  curse  his  judges,  and  to  fall  prostrate  before  his  successor. 
When  Charles  II.  ascended  the  throne,  the  City  gave  him  a 
magnificent  entertainment,  the  people  indulged  in  the  most 
extravagant  rejoicings,  and  ran  to  witness  the  execution  of 
those  same  judges  whom  Charles  sacrificed  to  the  manes  of 
his  father.  People  of  Paris,  parliament  of  France,  have  ye 
heard  me  ?  " 

Faure  moved  for  copies  of  all  the  decrees  issued  relative 
to  the  trial.  At  length  the  gloomy  Eobespierre  again  came 
forward,  full  of  wrath  and  bitterness.  He,  too,  he  said,  had 
been  touched,  and  had  felt  republican  virtue  waver  in  his 
heart,  at  the  sight  of  the  culprit  humbled  before  the  sovereign 
power.  But  the  last  proof  of  devotedness  due  to  the  country 
was  to  stifle  every  movement  of  sensibility.  He  then  repeated 
all  that  he  had  said  on  the  competence  of  the  Convention, 
on  the  everlasting  delays  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  national 
vengeance,  on  the  indulgence  shown  to  the  tyrant,  while  the 
warmest  friends  of  liberty  were  attacked  without  any  "kind  of 
reserve.  He  declared  that  this  appeal  to  the  people  was  but  a 
resource  similar  to  that  devised  by  Guadet  when  he  moved 
for  the  purificatory  scrutiny,  that  this  perfidious  resource  was 
designed  to  unsettle  everything — the  actual  deputation,  and  the 
10th  of  August,  and  the  republic  itself.  Constantly  reverting 
to  himself  and  his  enemies,  he  compared  their  existing  situa- 
tion with  that  of  July  1 79 1,  when  it  was  proposed  to  try  Louis 
XVI.  on  account  of  his  flight  to  Varennes.  On  that  occasion 
Robespierre  had  acted  an  important  part.  He  recounted  his 
dangers,  as  well  as  the  successful  efforts  of  his  adversaries  to  re- 
place Louis  XVI.  on  the  throne,  the  fusillade  of  the  Champ  de 
Mars  which  had  followed,  and  the  perils  in  which  Louis  XVI., 
when  replaced  on  the  throne,  had  involved  the  public  weal. 
He  perfidiously  ranked  his  adversaries  of  that  day  with  those 
of  former  times,  and  represented  himself  and  France  as  being 
in  one  and  the  same  danger  from  the  intrigues  and  machina- 
tions of  those  very  scoundrels  who  called  themselves  honest 
men.     "Now,"  added  Robespierre,  "they  have  nothing  to  say 


jan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  199 

upon  the  most  important  interests  of  the  country  ;  they  abstain 
from  pronouncing  their  opinion  concerning  the  last  King  ;  but 
their  underhand  and  baneful  activity  produces  all  the  disturb- 
ances which  agitate  the  country  ;  and  in  order  to  mislead  the 
sound  but  frequently  mistaken  majority,  they  persecute  the 
most  ardent  patriots  under  the  designation  of  the  factious 
minority.  The  minority,  he  exclaimed,  "has  often  changed 
into  a  majority  by  enlightening  the  deluded  assemblies. 
Virtue  was  always  in  a  minority  upon  earth  !  But  for  this 
the  earth  would  be  peopled  by  tyrants  and  slaves.  Hampden 
and  Sydney  were  in  the  minority,  for  they  expired  on  a  scaf- 
fold.* A  Critias.  an  Anitas,  a  Cassar,  a  Clodius,  were  in  the 
majority  ;  but  Socrates  was  in  the  minority — for  he  swallowed 
hemlock ;  Cato  was  in  the  minority — for  he  plunged  his  sword 
into  his  bowels."  Robespierre  then  recommended  quietness 
to  the  people,  in  order  to  take  away  every  pretext  from  their 
adversaries,  who  represented  the  mere  applause  bestowed  on  its 
faithful  deputies  as  rebellion.  "People!"  cried  he,  "restrain 
your  plaudits.  Shun  the  theatre  of  our  debates.  Out  of  your 
sight  we  shall  not  fight  the  less  stoutly."  He  concluded  by 
demanding  that  Louis  XVI.  should  be  immediately  declared 
guilty,  and  condemned  to  death. 

There  was  a  constant  succession  of  speakers  from  the  28th 
to  the  3 1  st.  Vergniaud  at  length  ascended  the  tribune  for  the 
first  time,  and  an  extraordinary  eagerness  was  manifested  to 
hear  the  Girondins  express  their  sentiments  by  the  lips  of  their 
greatest  orator,  and  break  that  silence  of  which  Eobespierre 
was  not  t he  only  one  to  accuse  them. 

Vergniaud  commenced  by  expounding  the  principles  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people,  and  distinguished  the  cases  in  which 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  representatives  to  appeal  to  it.  It 
would  be  too  long,  too  difficult,  to  recur  to  a  great  nation 
for  all  the  legislative  acts  ;  but  in  regard  to  certain  acts  of 
extraordinary  importance  the  case  is  totally  different.  The 
constitution,  for  example,  has  been  destined  beforehand  to  be 
submitted  to  the  national  sanction.  But  this  object  is  not  the 
only  one  that  deserves  an  extraordinary  sanction.  The  trial 
of  Louis  possesses  such  grave  characteristics,  either  from  the 
accumulation  of  powers  exercised  by  the  Assembly,  or  from 
the  inviolability  which  had  been  constitutionally  granted  to 
the  monarch.,  or  lastly,  from  the  political  effects  which  must 
result   from  a  condemnation,  that  it  is  impossible  to  deny  its 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  point  out  this  palpable  historical  blunder,  as 
every  English  reader  knows  that  Hampden  fell  in  battle  with  Prince  Rupert, 
at  Chalgrave,  in  Oxfordshire 


200  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

high  importance,  and  the  necessity  of  submitting  it  to  the 
nation  itself.  After  developing  this  system,  Vergniaud,  who 
refuted  Robespierre  in  particular,  at  length  came  to  the  poli- 
tical inconveniences  of  the  appeal  to  the  people,  and  touched 
upon  all  the  great  cjuestions  which  divided  the  two  parties. 

He  first  considered  the  disturbances  which  were  apprehended 
from  referring  to  the  people  the  sanction  of  the  sentence 
passed  upon  the  King.  He  repeated  the  reasons  adduced  by 
other  Girondins,  and  maintained  that,  if  no  fear  of  civil  war 
was  felt  in  convoking  the  primary  assemblies  for  the  purpose 
of  sanctioning  the  constitution,  he  did  not  see  why  such  a 
result  should  be  dreaded  from  calling  them  together  in  order 
to  sanction  the  sentence  upon  the  King.  This  reason,  fre- 
quently repeated,  was  of  little  weight,  for  the  constitution 
was  not  the  real  question  of  the  Revolution.  It  could  but  be 
the  detailed  regulation  of  an  institution  already  decreed  and 
assented  to — the  republic.  But  the  death  of  the  King  was  a 
formidable  question.  The  point  was  to  decide  if,  in  proceeding 
by  the  way  of  death  against  royalty,  the  Revolution  would 
break  irretrievably  with  the  past,  and  advance,  by  vengeance 
and  an  inexorable  energy,  to  the  goal  which  it  proposed  to 
itself.  Now,  if  so  terrible  a  question  produced  such  a  de- 
cided division  in  the  Convention  and  Paris,  there  would  be  the 
greatest  danger  in  again  proposing  it  to  the  forty-four  thou- 
sand sections  of  the  French  territory.  Tumultuous  disputes 
took  place  at  all  the  theatres,  in  all  the  popular  societies ;  and 
it  was  requisite  that  the  Convention  should  have  the  nerve  to 
decide  the  question  itself,  that  it  might  not  have  to  refer  it  to 
France,  which  would  perhaps  resolve  it  by  arms. 

Vergniaud,  holding  the  same  opinion  as  his  friends  on  this 
subject,  maintained  that  civil  war  was  not  to  be  apprehended. 
He  said  that  in  the  departments  agitators  had  not  gained  the 
preponderance  which  a  base  weakness  had  suffered  them  to 
usurp  in  Paris  ;  that  they  had  certainly  spread  themselves  over 
the  face  of  the  republic,  but  had  everywhere  met  with  nothing 
but  contempt ;  and  that  the  people  had  furnished  a  signal 
example  of  obedience  to  the  law  by  sparing  the  impure  blood 
which  flowed  in  their  veins.  He  then  refuted  the  fears  which 
had  been  expressed  respecting  the  real  majority,  which  was 
said  to  be  composed  of  intriguers,  royalists,  and  aristocrats ; 
and  inveighed  against  the  supercilious  assertion  that  virtue 
was  in  a  minority  upon  earth.  "  Citizens ! "  he  exclaimed, 
"  Catiline  was  in  a  minority  in  the  Roman  Senate,  and  had 
this  minority  prevailed,  all  had  been  over  with  Rome,  the 
Senate,  and  liberty.     In  the  Constituent  Assembly  Maury  and 


JAN.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  201 

Cazales  were  in  a  minority,  and  had  they  prevailed,  it  had 
been  all  over  with  yon  !  Kings  also  are  in  a  minority  upon 
earth  ;  and  in  order  to  fetter  nations  they,  too,  assert  that 
virtue  is  in  a  minority.  They,  too,  say  that  the  majority  of 
the  people  is  composed  of  intriguers,  who  must  be  reduced 
to  silence  by  terror  if  empires  are  to  be  preserved  from  one 
general  convulsion." 

Vergniaud  asked  if.  to  form  a  majority  suitable  to  the  wishes 
of  certain  persons,  it  was  right  to  employ  banishment  and 
death,  to  change  France  into  a  desert,  and  thus  deliver  her  up 
to  the  schemes  of  a  handful  of  villains. 

Having  avenged  the  majority  and  France,  he  avenged  him- 
self and  his  friends,  whom  he  represented  as  resisting  con- 
stantly, and  with  equal  courage,  all  sorts  of  despotisms — the 
despotism  of  the  Court,  as  well  as  that  of  the  brigands  of 
September.  He  represented  them  during  the  commotion  of 
the  10th  of  August,  sitting  amidst  the  pealing  of  the  cannon 
of  the  palace,  pronouncing  the  forfeiture  of  the  crown  before 
the  victory  of  the  people,  while  those  Brutuses  now  so  eager 
to  take  the  lives  of  prostrate  tyrants  were  hiding  their  terrors 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  thus  awaiting  the  issue  of  the 
uncertain  battle  which  liberty  was  fighting  with  despotism. 

He  then  hurled  upon  his  adversaries  the  reproach  of  pro- 
voking civil  war.  "Yes,"  said  he,  "those  are  desirous  of  civil 
war  who.  preaching  up  the  murder  of  all  the  partisans  of 
tyranny,  give  that  appellation  to  all  the  victims  whom  their 
hatred  would  fain  sacrifice  ;  those  who  call  down  daggers  upon 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  and  demand  the  dissolution 
of  the  government  and  of  the  Convention  ;  those  who  wish 
that  the  minority  may  become  the  ruler  of  the  majority,  that 
it  may  be  able  to  enforce  its  opinions  by  insurrections, 
and  that  the  Catilines  may  be  called  to  reign  in  the  Senate. 
They  are  desirous  of  civil  war  who  inculcate  these  maxims  in 
all  the  public  places,  and  pervert  the  people  by  stigmatizing 
nason  as  Feuillantism,  justice  as  pusillanimity,  and  sacred 
humanity  as  conspiracy. 

"Civil  war!"  exclaimed  the  orator,  "for  having  invoked  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people!  .  .  .  Yet  in  July  1791  ye  were 
more  modest.  Ye  had  no  desire  to  paralyze  it,  and  to  reign 
in  its  stead.  Ye  circulated  a  petition  for  consulting  the  people 
on  the  judgment  to  be  passed  upon  Louis  on  his  return  from 
Varennes  !  Ye  then  wished  for  the  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
and  did  not  think  that  invoking  it  was  capable  of  exciting  civil 
war!  Was  it  that  then  it  favoured  your  secret  views,  and  that 
now  it  is  hostile  to  them  ?  " 


202  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

The  orator  then  proceeded  to  other  considerations.  It  had 
been  said  that  it  behoved  the  Assembly  to  show  sufficient 
greatness  and  courage  to  cause  its  judgment  to  be  carried 
into  execution  itself,  without  calling  the  opinion  of  the  people 
to  its  support.  "  Courage  !  "  said  he  ;  "  it  required  courage  to 
attack  Louis  XVI.  in  the  height  of  his  power.  Does  it  require 
as  much  to  send  Louis,  vanquished  and  disarmed,  to  execu- 
tion ?  A  Cimbrian  soldier  entered  the  prison  of  Marius  with 
the  intention  of  murdering  him.  Terrified  at  the  sight  of  his 
victim,  he  fled  without  daring  to  strike.  Had  this  soldier  been 
a  member  of  a  Senate,  do  you  suppose  that  he  would  have 
hesitated  to  vote  the  death  of  the  tyrant  ?  What  courage  do 
you  find  in  the  performance  of  an  act  of  which  a  coward  would 
be  capable  ?  " 

He  then  spoke  of  a  different  kind  of  courage — that  which 
is  to  be  displayed  against  foreign  powers.  "  Since  people  are 
continually  talking  of  a  great  political  act,"  said  he,  "it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  examine  the  question  in  that  point  of  view. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  powers  are  waiting  for  this  last 
pretext  to  rush  all  together  upon  France.  There  is  as  little 
doubt  that  we  shall  conquer  them.  The  heroism  of  the  French 
soldiers  is  a  sure  guarantee  of  victory ;  but  there  must  be  an 
increase  of  expense,  of  efforts  of  every  kind.  If  the  war  con- 
strains us  to  resort  to  fresh  issues  of  assignats  ;  if  it  inflicts 
new  and  mortal  injuries  on  commerce  ;  if  it  causes  torrents  of 
blood  to  be  shed  upon  land  and  upon  sea ;  what  very  great 
services  will  you  have  rendered  to  humanity !  What  gratitude 
will  the  country  owe  you  for  having  performed  in  its  name, 
and  in  contempt  of  its  misconstrued  sovereignty,  an  act  of 
vengeance,  that  has  become  the  cause  or  merely  the  pretext 
for  such  calamitous  events  !  I  put  out  of  the  question,"  cried 
the  speaker,  "  all  idea  of  reverses ;  but  will  you  dare  boast  to 
it  of  your  services  ?  There  will  not  be  a  family  but  will  have 
to  deplore  either  a  father  or  a  son ;  the  farmer  will  soon  be 
in  want  of  hands  ;  the  manufactories  will  be  forsaken  ;  your 
exhausted  treasury  will  call  for  new  taxes  ;  the  social  body, 
harassed  by  the  attacks  made  upon  it  by  armed  enemies  from 
without,  and  by  raging  factions  within,  will  sink  into  a  deadly 
languor.  Beware  lest  amid  these  triumphs  France  be  like 
those  celebrated  monuments  in  Egypt  which  have  vanquished 
Time  ;  the  stranger  who  passes  is  astonished  at  their  magni- 
tude ;  if  he  attempts  to  penetrate  into  them,  what  does  he  find  ? 
Inanimate  dust,  and  the  silence  of  the  grave." 

Besides  these  fears,  there  were  others  which  presented 
themselves  to  the  mind  of  Vergniaud.     They  were  suggested 


jan.  1793       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOLUTION.  203 

to  him  by  English  history  and  by  the  conduct  of  Cromwell, 
the  principal  though  secret  author  of  the  death  of  Charles  I. 
This  man,  continually  urging  the  people,  at  first  against  the 
King,  then  against  the  Parliament  itself,  at  length  broke  in 
pieces  his  weak  instrument,  and  seized  the  supreme  power. 
'■  Have  you  not."  added  Yergniaud,  "  have  you  not  heard  in 
this  place  and  elsewhere  men  crying  out,  '  If  bread  is  dear, 
the  cause  of  it  is  in  the  Temple  ;  if  specie  is  scarce,  if  our 
armies  are  scantily  supplied,  the  cause  of  it  is  in  the  Temple  ; 
if  we  are  shocked  every  day  by  the  sight  of  indigence,  the 
cause  of  it  is  in  the  Temple  !  ' 

"  And  yet  those  who  use  this  language  well  know  that 
the  dearness  of  bread,  the  want  of  circulation  in  provisions, 
the  maladministration  in  the  armies,  and  the  indigence,  the 
sight  of  which  afflicts  us,  spring  from  other  causes  than  those 
in  the  Temple.  What,  then,  are  their  designs  ?  Who  will 
guarantee  to  me  that  these  same  men  who  are  continually 
striving  to  degrade  the  Convention,  and  who  might  possibly 
have  succeeded  if  the  majesty  of  the  people,  which  resides  in 
it,  could  depend  on  their  perfidies  ;  that  those  same  men,  who 
are  everywhere  proclaiming  that  a  new  revolution  is  necessary  ; 
who  are  causing  this  or  that  section  to  be  declared  in  a  state 
of  permanent  insurrection  ;  who  say  that  when  the  Convention 
succeeded  Louis  we  only  changed  tyrants,  and  that  we  want 
another  10th  of  August ;  that  those  same  men  who  talk  of 
nothing  but  plots,  death,  traitors,  proscriptions,  who  insist  in 
the  meetings  of  sections  and  in  their  writings  that  a  defender 
ought  to  be  appointed  for  the  republic,  and  that  nothing  but 
a  chief  can  save  it ; — who,  I  say,  will  guarantee  to  me  that 
these  very  men  will  not,  after  the  death  of  Louis,  cry  out 
with  greater  violence  than  ever,  '  If  bread  is  dear,  the  cause 
of  it  is  in  the  Convention  ;  if  money  is  scarce,  if  our  armies 
are  scantily  supplied,  the  cause  of  it  is  in  the  Convention  ; 
if  the  machine  of  the  government  can  hardly  keep  moving, 
the  cause  of  it  is  in  the  Convention  charged  with  the  direction 
of  it  ;  if  the  calamities  of  war  are  increased  by  the  declarations 
of  England  and  Spain,  the  cause  of  it  is  in  the  Convention, 
which  has  provoked  those  declarations  by  the  hasty  condemna- 
tion of  Louis ! ' 

"Who  will  guarantee  to  me  that  these  seditious  outcries  of 
anarchical  turbulence  will  not  have  the  effect  of  rallying  the 
aristocracy  eager  for  revenge,  poverty  eager  for  change,  and 
even  pity  itself,  which  inveterate  prejudices  will  have  excited 
for  the  fate  of  Louis!  Who  will  guarantee  to  me  that  amid 
this  leiupe.-t.  in  which  we  shall  Bee  the  murderers  of  the  2nd  of 


204  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

September  issuing  from  their  lairs,  there  will  not  be  presented 
to  you,  dripping  with  blood,  and  by  the  title  of  liberator, 
that  defender,  that  chief  who  is  said  to  be  so  indispensable  ! 
A  chief  !  Ah  !  if  such  were  their  audacity,  the  instant  he 
appeared,  that  instant  he  would  be  pierced  by  a  thousand 
wounds  !  But  to  what  horrors  would  not  Paris  be  consigned 
— Paris,  whose  heroic  courage  against  kings  posterity  will 
admire,  while  it  will  be  utterly  incapable  of  conceiving  her 
ignominious  subjection  to  a  handful  of  brigands,  the  scum  of 
mankind,  who  rend  her  bosom  by  the  convulsive  movements 
of  their  ambition  and  their  fury  !  Who  could  dwell  in  a  city 
where  terror  and  death  would  hold  swav  !  And  ye,  industrious 
citizens,  whose  labour  is  all  your  wealth,  and  for  whom  the 
means  of  labour  would  be  destroyed  ;  ye,  who  have  made 
such  great  sacrifices  at  the  Revolution,  and  who  would  be 
deprived  of  the  absolute  necessaries  of  life  ;  ye,  whose  virtues, 
whose  ardent  patriotism,  and  whose  sincerity  have  rendered 
vour  seduction  so  easv,  what  would  become  of  you  ?  What 
would  be  your  resources  ?  What  hand  would  dry  your  tears 
and  carry  relief  to  your  perishing  families  ? 

"Would  you  apply  to  those  false  friends,  those  treacherous 
flatterers,  who  would  have  plunged  you  into  the  abyss !  Ah ! 
shun  them  rather  !  Dread  their  answer  !  I  will  tell  you  what 
it  would  be.  You  would  ask  them  for  bread ;  they  would  say 
to  you,  '  Go  to  the  quarries,  and  dispute  with  the  earth  the 
possession  of  the  mangled  flesh  of  the  victims  whom  ye  have 
slaughtered!'  Or,  'Do  you  want  blood?  here  it  is," take  it 
— blood  and  carcasses.  We  have  no  other  food  to  offer  you  ! ' 
.  .  .  Ye  shudder,  citizens !  0  my  country,  I  call  upon  thee 
in  my  turn  to  attest  the  efforts  that  I  make  to  save  thee  from 
this  deplorable  crisis  !  " 

This  extempore  speech  of  Yergniaud  produced  a  deep  im- 
pression and  general  admiration  in  his  hearers  of  all  classes. 
Robespierre  was  thunderstruck  by  his  earnest  and  persuasive 
elocpience.  Yergniaud.  however,  had  but  shaken,  not  con- 
vinced, the  Assembly,  which  wavered  between  the  two  parties. 
Several  members  were  successively  heard  for  and  against  the 
appeal  to  the  people.  Brissot,  Gensonne,  Petion,  supported 
it  in  their  turn.  One  speaker  at  length  had  a  decisive  influ- 
ence on  the  question.  This  was  Barrere.  By  his  suppleness, 
and  his  cold  and  evasive  eloquence,  he  was  the  model  and 
oracle  of  the  centre.  He  spoke  at  great  length  on  the  trial, 
reviewed  it  in  all  its  bearings — those  of  facts,  of  laws,  and  of 
policy — and  furnished  all  those  weak  minds  who  only  wanted 
specious  reasons  for  yielding,  with  motives  for  the  condemna- 


jan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  205 

tion  of  the  King.  His  arguments,  weak  as  they  were,  served 
as  a  pretext  for  all  those  who  wavered ;  and  from  that  moment 
the  unfortunate  King  was  condemned.  The  discussion  lasted 
till  the  7th,  and  nobody  would  listen  any  longer  to  the  ever- 
lasting repetition  of  the  same  facts  and  the  same  arguments. 
It  was  therefore  declared  to  be  closed  without  opposition ; 
but  the  proposal  of  a  fresh  adjournment  excited  a  com- 
motion among  the  most  violent,  and  ended  in  a  decree 
which  fixed  the  14th  of  January  for  putting  the  questions 
to  the  vote. 

That  fatal  day  having  arrived,  an  extraordinary  concourse 
of  spectators  surrounded  the  Assembly  and  filled  the  tribunes. 
A  multitude  of  speakers  pressed  forward  to  propose  different 
ways  of  putting  the  questions.  At  length,  after  a  long  de- 
bate, the  Convention  comprised  all  the  questions  in  the  three 
following : — 

Is  Louis  Capet  guilty  of  conspiracy  against  the  liberty  of  the 
nation,  and  attempts  against  the  general  safety  of  the  State? 

Shall  the  judgment,  whatever  it  may  be,  be  referred  to  the 
sanction  of  the  people  ? 

What  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  upon  him  ? 

The  whole  of  the  14th  was  occupied  in  deciding  upon  the 
questions.  The  15th  was  reserved  for  voting.  The  Assembly 
decided,  in  the  first  place,  that  each  member  should  deliver 
his  vote  from  the  tribune  ;  that  he  should  write  and  sign  it, 
and  if  he  pleased,  assign  his  motive  for  it ;  that  members 
absent  without  cause  should  be  censured,  but  that  such  as 
should  come  in  afterwards  might  give  their  votes  even  after 
the  general  voting  was  over.  At  length  the  fatal  voting  on 
the  first  question  commenced.  Eight  members  were  absent 
on  account  of  illness,  twenty  upon  commissions  from  the 
Assembly.  Thirty-seven,  assigning  various  motives  for  their 
votes,  acknowledged  Louis  XVI.  to  be  guilty,  but  declared 
themselves  incompetent  to  pronounce  sentence,  and  merely 
proposed  measures  of  general  safety  against  him.  Lastly,  six 
hundred  and  eighty-three  members  declared  Louis  XVI.  guilty 
wit  Ik  nit  ( •xplanation.  The  Assembly  consisted  of  seven  hundred 
and  forty-nine  members. 

The  president,  in  the  name  of  the  National  Convention, 
declared  Louis  Capet  guilty  of  conspiracy  against  the  liberty 
of  the  nation,  and  attempts  against  the  general  welfare  of 
the  State. 

The  voting  commenced  on  the  second  question — that  of  the 
appeal  to  the  people.  Twenty-nine  members  were  absent. 
Four,  Lafon,  Waudelaincourt,  Morisson,   and    Lacroix,   refused 


206  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

to  vote.  Noel  also  declined.  Eleven  gave  their  opinion  with 
different  conditions.  Two  hundred  and  eighty-one  voted  for 
the  appeal  to  the  people.  Four  hundred  and  twenty-three 
rejected  it.  The  president  declared,  in  the  name  of  the 
National  Convention,  that  the  judgment  on  Louis  Capet  should 
not  be  submitted  to  the  ratification  of  the  people. 

The  whole  of  the  15th  was  taken  up  by  these  two  series 
of  votes.  The  third  was  postponed  till  the  sitting  of  the 
following  day. 

The  nearer  the  moment  approached,  the  greater  became 
the  agitation  in  Paris.  At  the  theatres,  voices  favourable  to 
Louis  XVI.  had  been  raised  on  occasion  of  the  performance 
of  the  play  entitled  "  L'Ami  des  Lois."*  The  commune  had 
ordered  all  the  playhouses  to  be  shut  up  ;  but  the  executive 
council  had  revoked  that  measure,  as  a  violation  of  the  liberty 
of  the  press,  in  which  was  comprehended  the  liberty  of  the 
theatre.  Deep  consternation  pervaded  the  prisons.  A  report 
was  circulated  that  the  atrocities  of  September  were  to  be 
repeated  there,  and  the  prisoners  and  their  relatives  beset  the 
deputies  with  supplications  that  they  would  snatch  them  from 
destruction.  The  Jacobins,  on  their  part,  alleged  that  con- 
spiracies were  hatching  in  all  quarters  to  save  Louis  XVI.  from 
punishment,  and  to  restore  royalty.  Their  anger,  excited  by 
delays  and  obstacles,  assumed  a  more  threatening  aspect ;  and 
the  two  parties  thus  alarmed  one  another  by  supposing  that 
each  harboured  sinister  designs. 

The  sitting  of  the  16th  drew  together  a  still  greater  con- 
course than  any  that  had  preceded.  It  was  the  decisive  sitting, 
for  the  declaration  of  culpability  would  be  nothing  if  Louis 
XVI.  should  be  condemned  to  mere  banishment,  and  the  object 
of  those  who  desired  to  save  him  would  be  accomplished,  since 
all  that  they  could  expect  at  the  moment  was  to  save  him 
from  the  scaffold.  The  tribunes  had  been  early  occupied  by 
the  Jacobins,  and  their  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  bureau  at  which 
every  member  was  to  appear  to  deliver  his  vote.  Great  part 
of  the  day  was  taken  up  by  measures  of  public  order,  in  send- 
ing for  the  ministers,  in  hearing  them,  in  obtaining  an  explana- 
tion from  the  mayor  relative  to  the  closing  of  the  barriers, 
which  were  said  to  have  been  shut  during  the  day.  The  Con- 
vention decreed  that  they  should  remain  open,  and  that  the 

*  "At  the  representation  of  the  comedy  called  'L'Ami  des  Lois,'  at  the 
Frangais,  every  allusion  to  the  King's  trial  was  caught  and  received  with  un- 
bounded applause.  At  the  Vaudeville,  on  one  of  the  characters  in  '  La  Chaste 
Susanne'  saying  to  the  two  Elders,  'You  cannot  be  accusers  and  judges  at 
the  same  time,'  the  audience  obliged  the  actor  to  repeat  the  passage  several 
times." — Clery. 


jan.  1793       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  207 

federalists  at  Paris  should  share  with  the  Parisians  the  duty  of 
the  city  and  of  all  the  public  establishments. 

As  the  day  was  advanced,  it  was  decided  that  the  sitting 
should  be  permanent  till  the  voting  was  over.  At  the  moment 
when  it  was  about  to  commence,  it  was  proposed  that  the 
Assembly  should  fix  the  number  of  votes  by  which  sentence 
should  be  passed.  Lehardy  proposed  two-thirds,  as  in  the 
criminal  courts.  Danton,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Belgium, 
strongly  opposed  this  motion,  and  required  a  bare  majority, 
that  is  to  say,  one  more  than  half.  Lanjuinais  exposed  himself 
to  fresh  storms  by  insisting  that,  after  so  many  violations  of 
the  forms  of  justice,  they  should  at  least  observe  that  which 
demands  two-thirds  of  the  votes.  '"We  vote,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  under  the  daggers  and  the  cannon  of  the  factions."  At  these 
words  new  outcries  burst  forth,  and  the  Convention  put  an 
end  to  the  debate  by  declaring  that  the  form  of  its  decrees 
was  unique,  and  that  according  to  this  form  they  were  all 
passed  by  a  bare  majority. 

The  voting  began  at  half-past  seven  in  the  evening,  and 
lasted  all  night.  Some  voted  merely  death  ;  *  others  declared 
themselves  in  favour  of  detention,  and  banishment  on  the 
restoration  of  peace  ;  whilst  others,  again,  pronounced  death, 
but  witli  this  restriction,  that  they  should  inquire  whether  it 
was  not  expedient  to  stay  the  execution.  Maimef  was  the 
author  of  this  restriction,  which  was  designed  to  save  Louis 
XVI.,  for  in  this  case  time  was  everything,  and  delay  an 
acquittal.  A  considerable  number  of  deputies  expressed  them- 
selves in  favour  of  this  course.  The  voting  continued  amidst 
tumult.  At  this  moment  the  interest  which  Louis  XYI.  had 
excited  was  at  its  height ;  and  many  members  had  arrived  with 
the  intention  of  voting  in  his  favour;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
also,  the  rancour  of  liis  enemies  had  increased,  and  the  people 
had  been  brought  to  identity  the  cause  of  the  republic  with 
the  death  of  the  last  King,  and  to  consider  the  republic 
as  condemned,  and  rovaltv  as  restored,  if  Louis  XVI.  were 
saved. 

Alarmed  at  the  fury  excited  by  this  notion,  many  members 
were  in  dread  of  civil  war,  and  though  deeply  moved  by  the 
Pate  of  Louis  XVI.,  they  were  afraid  of  the  consequences  of 
an  acquittal.     This  fear  was  greatly  augmented  at  sight  of  the 

*  "  Many  great  and  pood  men  mournfully  inclined  to  the  severer  side,  from  an 
opinion  of  its  absolute  necessity  to  annihilate  a  dangerous  enemy,  and  establish 
an  unsettled  republic.  Among  these  must  be  reckoned  Carnot,  who,  when  called 
on  for  his  opinion,  gave  it  in  these  words  :  '  Death,  and  never  did  word  weigh  so 
heavily  on  my  heart  !'" — Alison. 

f  Sec  Appendix  TT. 


2  08  HISTORY  OF  Jan.  1793 

Assembly  and  the  scene  that  was  passing  there.  As  each 
deputy  ascended  the  steps  of  the  bureau,  silence  was  observed 
in  order  that  he  might  be  heard  ;  but  after  he  had  given  his 
vote,  tokens  of  approbation  or  disapprobation  immediately 
burst  forth,  and  accompanied  his  return  to  his  seat.  The 
tribunes  received  with  murmurs  all  votes  that  were  not  for 
death ;  and  they  frequently  addressed  threatening  gestures  to 
the  Assembly  itself.  The  deputies  replied  to  them  from  the 
interior  of  the  hall,  and  hence  resulted  a  tumultuous  exchange 
of  menaces  and  abusive  epithets.  This  fearfully  ominous  scene 
had  shaken  all  minds,  and  changed  many  resolutions.  Lecointe, 
of  Versailles,  whose  courage  was  undoubted,  and  who  had  not 
ceased  to  respond  to  the  gesticulation  of  the  tribunes,  advanced 
to  the  bureau,  hesitated,  and  at  length  dropped  from  his  lips 
the  unexpected  and  terrible  word,  Death.  Vergniaud,  who 
had  appeared  deeply  affected  by  the  fate  of  Louis  XVI.,  and 
who  had  declared  to  his  friends  that  he  never  could  con- 
demn that  unfortunate  Prince — Vergniaud,  on  beholding  this 
tumultuous  scene,  imagined  that  he  saw  civil  war  kindled  in 
France,  and  pronounced  sentence  of  death,  with  the  addition, 
however,  of  Mailhe's  amendment.  On  being  questioned  respect- 
ing his  change  of  opinion,  he  replied  that  he  thought  he  beheld 
civil  war  011  the  point  of  breaking  out,  and  that  he  durst 
not  balance  the  life  of  an  individual  against  the  welfare  of 
France. 

Almost  all  the  Girondins  adopted  Mailhe's  amendment. 
A  deputy  whose  vote  excited  a  strong  sensation  was  the 
Due  d'Orleans.  Reduced  to  the  necessity  of  rendering 
himself  endurable  to  the  Jacobins,  or  perishing,  he  pro- 
nounced the  death  of  his  kinsman,  and  returned  to  his  place 
amidst  the  agitation  caused  by  his  vote.*  This  melancholy 
sitting  lasted  the  whole  night  of  the  16th,  and  the  whole  day 
of  the  17th  till  seven  in  the  evening.  The  summing  up  of 
the  votes  was  awaited  with  extraordinary  impatience.  The 
avenues  were  thronged  with  an  immense  crowd,  each  in- 
quiring of  his  neighbour  the  result  of  the  scrutiny.  In  the 
Assembly  itself   all   was    yet    uncertainty  ;    for  it   seemed   as 

*  "The  Due  d'Orleans,  when  called  on  to  give  his  vote,  walked  with  a  fal- 
tering step,  and  a  face  paler  than  death  itself,  to  the  appointed  place,  and  there 
read  these  words :  '  Exclusively  governed  by  my  duty,  and  convinced  that  all 
those  who  have  resisted  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  deserve  death,  my  vote  is 
for  death  ! '  Important  as  the  accession  of  the  first  Prince  of  the  blood  was  to 
the  terrorist  faction,  his  conduct  in  this  instance  was  too  obviously  selfish  and 
atrocious  not  to  excite  a  general  feeling  of  indignation  ;  the  agitation  of  the 
Assembly  became  extreme ;  it  seemed  as  if  by  this  single  vote  the  fate  of  the 
monarch  was  irrevocably  sealed." — History  of  the  Convention. 


jan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  209 

though  the  words  Imprisonment  or  Banishment  had  been  as 
frequently  pronounced  as  Death.  According  to  some,  there 
was  one  vote  deficient  for  condemnation.  According  to 
others,  there  was  a  majority,  but  only  by  a  single  voice. 
On  all  sides  it  was  asserted  that  one  vote  more  would  decide 
the  question,  and  people  looked  around  with  anxiety  to  see 
if  any  other  deputy  was  coming.  At  this  moment  a  man 
came  forward,  who  could  scarcely  walk,  and  whose  head 
wrapped  up  indicated  illness.  This  man,  named  Dnchastel, 
deputy  of  the  Deux-Sevres,  had  left  his  bed,  to  which  he 
had  been  confined,  in  order  to  give  his  vote.  At  this  sight 
tumultuous  shouts  arose.  It  was  alleged  that  the  intriguers 
had  hunted  him  out  for  the  purpose  of  saving  Louis  XVI. 
Some  wanted  to  question  him  ;  but  the  Assembly  refused  to 
allow  this,  and  authorized  him  to  vote,  by  virtue  of  the 
decision  which  admitted  of  the  vote  after  the  calling  of  the 
names.  Dnchastel  ascended  to  the  tribune  with  firmness, 
and  amidst  the  general  suspense,  pronounced  in  favour  of 
banishment. 

Fresh  incidents  followed.  The  minister  for  foreign  affairs 
desired  permission  to  speak,  in  order  to  communicate  a  note 
from  the  Chevalier  d'Ocariz,  the  Spanish  ambassador.  He 
offered  the  neutrality  of  Spain,  and  her  mediation  with  all 
the  powers,  if  Louis  XVI.  were  suffered  to  live.  The  im- 
patient Mountaineers  pretended  that  this  was  an  incident 
contrived  for  the  purpose  of  raising  fresh  obstacles,  and 
moved  the  order  of  the  day.  Danton  suggested  that  war 
should  be  immediately  declared  against  Spain.  The  Assembly 
adopted  the  order  of  the  day.  A  new  application  was  then 
announced.  The  defenders  of  Louis  XVI.  solicited  admission 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  communication.  Fresh  outcries 
proceeded  from  the  Mountain.  Robespierre  declared  that 
the  defence  was  finished,  that  the  counsel  had  no  right  to 
submit  anything  further  to  the  Convention,  that  the  judgment 
was  given,  and  only  remained  to  be  pronounced.  It  was 
decided  that  the  counsel  should  not  be  admitted  till  after 
the  pronouncing  of  judgment. 

\ '< srgniaud  presided.  "Citizens,"  said  he,  "I  am  about  to 
proclaim  the  result  of  the  scrutiny .  You  will  observe,  I  hope, 
profound  silence.  When  justice  has  spoken,  humanity  ought 
to  have  its  turn." 

The  Assembly  was  composed  of  seven  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  members  ;  fifteen  were  absent  on  commissions,  eight  from 
illness,  live  had  refused  to  vote,  which  reduced  the  number  of 
deputies   present    to  seven   hundred   and  twenty-one.    and    the 

vol.  tt.  12 


210  HISTORY  OF  tan.  1793 

absolute  majority  to  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  votes.  Two 
hundred  and  eighty-six  had  voted  for  detention  or  banishment, 
with  different  conditions.  Two  had  voted  for  imprisonment ; 
forty-six  for  death  with  reprieve,  either  till  peace,  or  till  the 
ratification  of  the  constitution.  Twenty-six  had  voted  for 
death ;  but  with  Mailhe,  they  had  desired  that  the  Assembly 
should  consider  whether  it  might  not  be  expedient  to  stay  the 
execution.  Their  vote  was  nevertheless  independent  of  the 
latter  clause.  Three  hundred  and  sixty-one  had  voted  for 
death  unconditionally. 

The  president  then,  in  a  sorrowful  tone,  declared  in  the 
name  of  the  Convention  that  the  punishment  pronounced  against 
Louis  Cafet  is — Death  !  * 

At  this  moment  the  defenders  of  Louis  XVI.  were  intro- 
duced at  the  bar.  M.  Deseze  addressed  the  Assembly,  and 
said  that  he  was  sent  by  his  client  to  put  in  an  appeal  to 
the  people  from  the  sentence  passed  by  the  Convention.  He 
founded  this  appeal  on  the  small  number  of  votes  which  had 
decided  the  condemnation,  and  maintained  that,  since  such 
doubts  had  arisen  in  the  minds  of  the  deputies,  it  was  ex- 
pedient to  refer  the  matter  to  the  nation  itself.  Tronchet 
added,  that  as  the  penal  code  had  been  followed  in  respect  to 
the  severity  of  the  punishment,  they  were  bound  to  follow  it 
also  in  respect  to  the  humanity  of  the  forms  ;  and  that  the 
form  which  required  two -thirds  of  the  voices  ought  not  to 
have  been  neglected.  The  venerable  Malesherbes  spoke  in  his 
turn.  With  a  voice  interrupted  by  sobs,  "  Citizens, "-said  he, 
"  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  public  speaking.  ...  I  see  with 
pain  that  I  am  refused  time  to  muster  my  ideas  on  the  manner 
of  counting  the  votes.  ...  I  have  formerly  reflected  much  on 
this  subject ;  I  have  many  observations  to  communicate  to  you 
.  .  .  but  .  .  .  Citizens  .  .  .  forgive  my  agitation  .  .  .  grant 
me  ftme  till  to-morrow  to  arrange  my  ideas." 

*  "When  M.  de  Malesherbes  went  to  the  Temple  to  announce  the  result  of 
the  vote,  he  found  Louis  with  his  forehead  resting  on  his  hands,  and  absorbed  in 
a  deep  reverie.  Without  inquiring  concerning  his  fate,  he  said,  '  For  two  hours 
I  have  been  considering  whether  during  my  whole  reign  I  have  voluntarily 
given  any  cause  of  complaint  to  my  subjects  ;  and  with  perfect  sincerity  I  declare 
that  I  deserve  no  reproach  at  their  hands,  and  that  I  have  never  formed  a  wisli 
but  for  their  happiness.'  " — Lacretelle. 

"  Louis  was  fully  prepared  for  his  fate.  During  the  calling  of  the  votes  he 
asked  M.  de  Malesherbes,  '  Have  you  not  met  near  the  Temple  the  White 
Lady?'  'What  do  you  mean  ?'  replied  he.  'Do  you  not  know,'  resumed  the 
King,  with  a  smile,  '  that  when  a  prince  of  our  house  is  about  to  die,  a  female 
dressed  in  white  is  seen  wandering  about  the  palace  ?  My  friends,'  added  he  to 
his  defenders,  '  I  am  about  to  depart  before  you  for  the  land  of  the  just,  but 
there  at  least  we  shall  be  reunited.'  In  fact,  his  Majesty's  only  apprehension 
seemed  to  be  for  his  family." — Alison. 


jan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  211 

The  Assembly  was  moved  at  the  sight  of  the  tears  and  the 
gray  hair  of  the  venerable  old  man.  "  Citizens,"  said  Vergniaud 
to  the  three  counsel,  "the  Convention  has  listened  to  the  re- 
monstrances which  it  was  a  sacred  duty  incumbent  on  you  to 
make.  Will  you,"  added  he,  addressing  the  Assembly,  "  decree 
the  honours  of  the  sitting  to  the  defenders  of  Louis  XVI.?" 
"  Yes,  yes,"  was  the  unanimous  reply. 

Robespierre  then  spoke,  and  referring  to  the  decree  passed 
against  an  appeal  to  the  people,  combated  the  application  of 
the  counsel.  Guadet  proposed  that,  without  admitting  of  the 
appeal  to  the  people,  twenty-four  hours  should  be  allowed  to 
Malesherbes.  Merlin  of  Douai  *  maintained  that  nothing  what- 
ever could  be  urged  against  the  manner  of  counting  the  votes, 
For  if  the  penal  code,  which  was  invoked,  required  two-thirds 
of  the  voices  for  the  declaration  of  the  fact,  it  recpiired  only  a 
bare  majority  for  the  application  of  the  punishment.  Now,  in 
the  present  case  the  culpability  had  been  declared  by  an  almost 
general  unanimity  of  voices;  and  therefore  it  mattered  not  if 
only  a  bare  majority  had  been  obtained  for  the  punishment. 

After  these  different  observations  the  Convention  passed  to 
the  order  of  the  day  upon  the  demands  of  the  counsel,  declared 
the  appeal  of  Louis  to  be  null,  and  deferred  the  question  of 
reprieve  to  the  following  day.  Next  day,  the  18th,  it  was 
alleged  that  the  enumeration  of  the  votes  was  not  correct,  and 
that  it  should  be  taken  anew.  The  whole  day  was  passed  in 
disputation.  At  length  the  calculation  was  ascertained  to  be 
correct,  and  the  Assembly  was  obliged  to  postpone  the  question 
of  reprieve  till  the  following  day. 

At  length,  on  the  19th,  this  last  question  was  discussed.  It 
was  placing  the  whole  of  the  proceedings  in  jeopardy,  for  to 
Louis  XVI.  delay  was  life  itself.  Thus,  after  exhausting  all 
their  arguments  in  discussing  the  punishment  and  the  appeal, 
the  Girondins  and  those  who  wished  to  save  Louis  XVI.  knew 
not  what  further  means  to  employ.  They  still  talked  of  poli- 
tical reasons,  but  were  told  in  reply,  that  if  Louis  XVI.  were 
dead,  people  would  arm  to  avenge  him;  that  if  he  were  alive 
and  detained,  they  would  arm  in  like  manner  to  deliver  him  ; 
and  that  consequently  in  either  case  the  result  would  be  the 
same.  Barrere  asserted  that  it  was  unworthy  of  the  Assembly 
thus  to  parade  a  head  through  foreign  Courts,  and  to  stipulate 
the  I il'o  <t  death  of  a  condemned  person  as  an  article  of  a  treaty, 
lie  added  that  this  would  be  a  cruelty  to  Louis  XVI.  himself, 
who  would  suffer  death  at  every  movement  of  the  armies.     The 

*  See  Appendix  UU. 


2  1 2  HTSTOR  Y  OF  jan.  1793 

Assembly,  immediately  closing  the  discussion,  decided  that 
each  member  should  vote  by  Yes  or  No,  without  stirring  from 
the  spot.  On  the  20th  of  January,  at  three  in  the  morning, 
the  voting  terminated,  and  the  president  declared,  by  a 
majority  of  three  hundred  and  eighty  voices  to  three  hundred 
and  ten,  that  the  execution  of  Louis  Capet  should  take  place 
without  delay.* 

At  this  moment  a  letter  arrived  from  Kersaint,f  in  which 
that  deputy  resigned  his  seat.  He  could  no  longer,  he  wrote 
to  the  Assembly,  endure  the  disgrace  of  sitting  in  the  same- 
place  with  bloodthirsty  men,  when  their  sentiments,  preceded 
by  terror,  prevailed  over  those  of  upright  minds  ;  when  Marat 
prevailed  over  Petion.  This  letter  caused  an  extraordinary 
agitation.  Gensonn^  spoke,  and  took  this  opportunity  to 
avenge  himself  on  the  Septembrizers  for  the  decree  of  death 
which  had  just  been  issued.  It  was  doing  nothing,  he  said, 
to  punish  the  misdeeds  of  tyranny  if  they  did  not  punish  other 
misdeeds  that  were  still  more  mischievous.  They  had  performed 
but  half  their  task  if  they  did  not  punish  the  crimes  of  Sep- 
tember, and  if  they  did  not  direct  proceedings  to  be  instituted 
against  their  authors.  At  this  proposition  the  greater  part 
of  the  Assembly  rose  with  acclamation.  Marat  and  Tallien 
opposed  the  movement.  "If,"  cried  they,  "you  punish  the 
authors  of  September,  punish  those  conspirators  also  who 
were  entrenched  in  the  palace  on  the  10th  of  August."  The 
Assembly,  complying  with  all  these  demands,  immediately 
ordered  the   minister  of  justice  to  prosecute  the   authors  of 

*  "  The  sitting  of  the  Convention  which  concluded  the  trial  lasted  seventy- 
two  hours.  It  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  silence,  restraint,  a  sort  of 
religious  awe,  would  have  pervaded  the  scene.  On  the  contrary,  everything  bore 
the  marks  of  gaiety,  dissipation,  and  the  most  grotesque  confusion.  The  farther 
end  of  the  hall  was  converted  into  boxes,  where  ladies,  in  a  studied  dishabille, 
swallowed  ices,  oranges,  liqueurs,  and  received  the  salutations  of  the  members 
who  went  and  came,  as  on  ordinary  occasions.  Here  the  doorkeepers  on  the 
Mountain  side  opened  and  shut  the  boxes  reserved  for  the  mistresses  of  the  Due 
d'Orleans-Egalite" ;  and  there,  though  every  sound  of  approbation  or  disappro- 
bation was  strictly  forbidden,  you  heard  the  long  and  indignant  '  Ha,  ha's  ! '  of 
the  mother-duchess,  the  patroness  of  the  bands  of  female  Jacobins,  whenever 
her  ears  were  not  loudly  greeted  with  the  welcome  sounds  of  death.  The  upper 
gallery,  reserved  for  the  people,  was  during  the  whole  trial  constantly  full  of 
strangers  of  every  description  drinking  wine,  as  in  a  tavern.  Bets  were  made 
as  to  the  issue  of  the  trial  in  all  the  neighbouring  coffee-houses.  Ennui,  im- 
patience, disgust,  sat  on  almost  every  countenance.  The  figures  passing  and 
repassing,  and  rendered  more  ghastly  by  the  pallid  lights,  and  who  in  a  slow, 
sepulchral  voice  only  pronounced  the  word  'death'  ;  others  calculating  if  they 
should  have  time  to  go  to  dinner  before  they  gave  their  verdict ;  women  pricking 
cards  with  pins  in  order  to  count  the  votes  ;  some  of  the  deputies  fallen  asleep, 
and  only  waked  up  to  give  their  sentence — all  this  had  the  appearance  rather 
of  a  hideous  dream  than  of  a  reality." — Ilazlittfx  Life  of  Napoleon. 

t  See  Appendix  W. 


jan.  1 7  9  3        TEE  FRENCE  RE  VOL  UTION.  2 1  3 

the  atrocities  committed  in  the  first  days  of  September,  as  well  as 
the  persons  found  in  arms  in  the  palace  during  the  night  between 
the  9th  and  10th  of  August,  and  the  functionaries  who  had  quitted 
their  posts  and  returned  to  Paris  to  conspire  with  the  Court. 

Louis  XVI.  was  definitely  condemned.  No  reprieve  could 
defer  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  and  all  the  expedients 
devised  for  postponing  the  fatal  moment  were  exhausted.  All 
the  members  of  the  right  side,  whether  secret  royalists  or 
republicans,  were  dismayed  at  that  cruel  sentence,  and  at  the 
ascendency  just  acquired  by  the  Mountain.  Profound  stupor 
pervaded  Paris.  The  audacity  of  the  new  government  had 
produced  the  effect  which  force  usually  produces  upon  the 
mass :  it  had  paralyzed  and  reduced  to  silence  the  greater 
number,  and  excited  the  indignation  of  merely  a  few  minds  of 
greater  energy.  There  were  still  some  old  servants  of  Louis 
XVI.,  some  young  gentlemen,  some  of  the  life-guards,  who 
proposed,  it  was  said,  to  fly  to  the  succour  of  the  monarch,  and 
to  rescue  him  from  death,  But  to  meet,  to  concert  together, 
to  make  arrangements,  amidst  the  profound  terror  of  the  one 
party,  and  the  active  vigilance  of  the  other,  was  impracticable  ; 
and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  attempt  some  unconnected 
acts  of  despair.  The  Jacobins,  delighted  with  their  triumph, 
were  nevertheless  astonished  at  it.  They  recommended  to  one 
another  to  keep  close  together  during  the  next  twenty-four 
hours,  to  send  commissioners  to  all  the  authorities,  to  the  com- 
mune, to  the  staff  of  the  national  guard,  to  the  department, 
and  to  the  executive  council,  for  the  purpose  of  rousing  their 
zeal,  and  ensuring  the  execution  of  the  sentence.  They  asserted 
that  this  execution  would  take  place — that  it  was  infallible ; 
but  from  the  care  which  they  took  to  repeat  this,  it  was  obvious 
that  they  themselves  did  not  entirely  believe  what  they  said. 
The  execution  of  a  king  in  the  bosom  of  a  country  which  but 
three  years  before  had  been  by  its  manners,  customs,  and  laws, 
an  absolute  monarchy,  appeared  still  doubtful,  and  was  rendered 
credible  only  by  the  event. 

The  executive  council  was  charged  with  the  melancholy 
commission  of  carrying  the  sentence  into  execution.  All  the 
ministers  wnc  assembled  in  the  hall  where  they  met,  and  they 
were  struck  with  consternation.  Carat,  as  minister  of  justice, 
had  the  most  painful  of  all  tasks  imposed  upon  him — that  of 
acquainting  Louis  XVI.  with  the  decrees  of  the  Convention.* 

*  "The  sentence  of  death  was  announced  by  Garat.  No  alteration  took  place 
in  I  lie  King's  countenance  ;  I  observed  only  at  the  word  'conspiracy  '  a  smile  of 
indignation  appear  on  his  lips  ;  but  at  the  words  'shall  sull'er  the  punishment 
of  death,'  the  expression  of  his  lace  when  he  looked  on  those  around  him,  showed 
that  death  had  no  terrors  for  him." — Clery. 


214  HISTORY  OF  JAN.  1793 

He  repaired  to  the  Temple,  accompanied  by  Santerre,  by  a 
deputation  of  the  commune  and  of  the  criminal  tribunal, 
and  by  the  secretary  of  the  executive  council.  Louis  XVI. 
had  been  four  days  expecting  his  defenders,  and  applying  in 
vain  to  see  them.  On  the  20th  of  January,  at  two  in  the 
afternoon,  he  was  still  awaiting  them,  when  all  at  once  he 
heard  the  sound  of  a  numerous  party.  He  stepped  forward, 
and  perceived  the  envoys  of  the  executive  council.  He  stopped 
with  dignity  at  the  door  of  his  apartment,  apparently  unmoved. 
Garat  then  told  him  sorrowfully  that  he  was  commissioned  to 
communicate  to  him  the  decrees  of  the  Convention.  Grouvelle, 
secretary  of  the  executive  council,  read  them  to  him.  The 
first  declared  Louis  XVI.  guilty  of  treason  against  the  general 
safety  of  the  State  ;  the  second  condemned  him  to  death ;  the 
third  rejected  any  appeal  to  the  people  ;  and  the  fourth  and 
last  ordered  his  execution  in  twenty-four  hours.  Louis,  look- 
ing calmly  around  upon  all  those  who  were  about  him,  took 
the  paper  from  the  hand  of  Grouvelle,  put  it. in  his  pocket, 
and  read  Garat  a  letter  in  which  he  demanded  from  the  Con- 
vention three  days  to  prepare  for  death,  a  confessor  to  assist 
him  in  his  last  moments,  liberty  to  see  his  family,  and  per- 
mission for  them  to  leave  France.  Garat  took  the  letter, 
promising  to  submit  it  immediately  to  the  Convention.  The 
King  gave  him  at  the  same  time  the  address  of  the  ecclesiastic 
whose  assistance  he  wished  to  have  in  his  last  moments. 

Louis  XVI.  went  back  into  his  room  with  great  composure, 
ordered  his  dinner,  and  ate  as  usual.  There  were  no-  knives 
on  the  table,  and  his  attendants  refused  to  let  him  have  any. 
"  Do  they  think  me  so  weak,"  he  exclaimed,  "  as  to  lay  violent 
hands  on  myself  ?  I  am  innocent,  and  I  am  not  afraid  to 
die."  He  was  obliged  to  dispense  with  a  knife.  On  finishing 
his  repast  he  returned  to  his  apartment,  and  calmly  awaited 
the  answer  to  his  letter. 

The  Convention  refused  the  delay,  but  granted  all  the  other 
demands  which  he  had  made.  Garat  sent  for  Edgeworth  de 
Firmont,*  the  ecclesiastic  whom  Louis  XVI.  had  chosen,  and 
took  him  in  his  own  carriage  to  the  Temple.  He  arrived  there 
at  six  o'clock,  and  went  to  the  great  tower,  accompanied  by 
Santerre.  He  informed  the  King  that  the  Convention  allowed 
him  to  have  a  minister,  and  to  see  his  family  alone,  but  that 
it  rejected  the  application  for  delay.  Garat  added  that  M. 
Edgeworth  had  arrived,  that  he  was  in  the  council-room,  and 
should  be  introduced.     He  then  retired,  more  astonished  and 

*'  See  Appendix  WW. 


& 
% 

« 


.tan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  215 

more  touched  than    ever   by  the    calm    magnanimity   of   the 
Prince. 

M.  Edgeworth,  on  being  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the 
King,  would  have  thrown  himself  at  his  feet ;  but  Louis  in- 
stantly raised  him,  and  both  shed  tears  of  emotion.  He  then 
with  eager  curiosity  asked  various  questions  concerning  the 
clergy  of  France,  several  bishops,  and  particularly  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  requesting  him  to  assure  the  latter  that  he 
died  faithfully  attached  to  his  communion.  The  clock  having 
struck  eight,  he  rose,  begged  M.  Edgeworth  to  wait,  and  re- 
tired with  emotion,  saying  that  he  was  going  to  see  his  family. 
The  municipal  officers,  unwilling  to  lose  sight  of  the  King, 
even  while  with  his  family,  had  decided  that  he  should  see 
them  in  the  dining-room,  which  had  a  glass  door,  through  which 
they  could  watch  all  his  motions  without  hearing  what  he  said. 
He  walked  anxiously  to  and  fro,  awaiting  the  painful  moment 
when  those  who  were  so  dear  to  him  should  appear.  At  half- 
past  eight  the  door  opened.  The  Queen,  holding  the  Dauphin 
by  the  hand,  Madame  Elizabeth,  and  Madame  Royale,  rushed 
sobbing  into  the  arms  of  Louis  XVI.  The  door  was  closed, 
and  the  municipal  officers,  Clery,  and  M.  Edgeworth  placed 
themselv.es  behind  it  to  witness  the  agonizing  interview. 
During  the  first  moments  it  was  but  a  scene  of  confusion 
and  despair.  Cries  and  lamentations  prevented  those  who 
were  on  the  watch  from  distinguishing  anything.  At  length 
tears  ceased  to  flow,  the  conversation  became  more  calm,  and 
the  Princesses,  still  holding  the  King  clasped  in  their  arms, 
spoke  to  him  for  some  time  in  a  low  tone.  After  a  long  con- 
versation, interrupted  by  silence  and  grief,  he  rose  to  put  an 
end  to  this  painful  meeting,  and  promised  to  see  them  again 
at  eight  the  next  morning.  "  Do  you  promise  that  you  will  ?  " 
earnestly  inquired  the  Princesses.  "  Yes,  yes,"  sorrowfully 
replied  the  King.  At  this  moment  the  Queen  held  him  by 
one  arm,  Madame  Elizabeth  by  the  other,  while  the  Princesse 
Royale  clasped  him  round  the  waist ;  and  the  young  Prince 
stood  before  him,  with  one  hand  in  that  of  his  mother,  and  the 
other  in  his  aunt's.  At  the  moment  of  retiring,  the  Princesse 
Royale  fainted;  she  was  carried  away,  and  the  King  returned 
to  M.  Edgeworth  deeply  depressed  by  this  painful  interview.* 
In  a  shorl  time  he  rallied,  and  recovered  all  his  composure. 

M.  Edgeworl  h  then  offered  to  say  mass,  which  the  King  had  not 
heard  for  a  long  time.  After  some  difficulties,  the  commune 
assented  to  that  ceremony,  and  application  was  made  to  the 

*  Set  Appendix  XX. 


216  HISTORY  OF  j an.  1793 

neighbouring  church  for  the  ornaments  necessary  for  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  The  King  retired  to  rest  about  midnight, 
desiring  Clery  to  call  him  before  five  o'clock.  M.  Edgeworth 
threw  himself  upon  a  bed ;  and  Clery  took  his  place  near  the 
pillow  of  his  master,  watching  the  peaceful  slumber  which  he 
enjoyed  the  night  before  he  was  to  ascend  the  scaffold. 

Meanwhile  a  frightful  scene  had  passed  in  Paris.  A  few 
ardent  minds  were  in  a  ferment  here  and  there  ;  while  the  great 
mass,  either  indifferent  or  awe-struck,  remained  immovable.  A 
life-guardsman,  named  Paris,  had  resolved  to  avenge  the  death 
of  Louis  XVI.  on  one  of  his  judges.  Lepelletier  St.  Fargeau  * 
had,  like  many  others  of  his  rank,  voted  for  death,  in  order  to 
throw  the  veil  of  oblivion  over  his  birth  and  fortune.  He  had 
excited  the  more  indignation  in  the  royalists,  on  account  of  the 
class  to  which  he  belonged.  On  the  evening  of  the  20th  he 
was  pointed  out  to  Paris,  when  he  was  just  sitting  down  to 
table  at  a  restaurateur's  in  the  Palais  Royal.  The  young  man, 
wrapped  in  a  great  cloak,  stepped  up  to  him,  and  said,  "Art 
thou  Lepelletier,  the  villain  who  voted  for  the  death  of  the 
King?  "  "  Yes,"  replied  the  deputy,  "  but  I  am  not  a  villain  ; 
I  voted  according  to  my  conscience."  "  There,  then,"  rejoined 
the  life-guardsman,  "  take  that  for  thy  reward,"  plunging  his 
sword  into  his  side.  Lepelletier  fell,  and  Paris  escaped  before 
the  persons  present  had  time  to  secure  him. 

The  news  of  this  event  instantly  spread  to  all  quarters.  It 
was  denounced  to  the  Convention,  the  Jacobins,  and  the 
commune ;  and  it  served  to  give  more  consistency  to  the 
rumours  of  a  conspiracy  of  the  royalists  for  slaughtering  the 
left  side,  and  rescuing  the  King  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold. 
The  Jacobins  declared  their  sitting  permanent,  and  sent  fresh 
commissioners  to  all  the  authorities  and  to  all  the  sections,  to 
awaken  their  zeal,  and  to  induce  the  entire  population  to  rise 
in  arms. 

Next  morning,  the  2 1  st  of  January,  the  clock  of  the  Temple 
struck  five.  The  King  awoke,  called  Clery,  inquired  the  hour, 
and  dressed  with  great  calmness.!  He  congratulated  himself 
on  having  recovered  his  strength  by  sleep.  Clery  kindled  a 
fire,  and  moved  a  chest  of  drawers,  out  of  which  he  formed 
an  altar.  M.  Edgeworth  put  on  his  pontifical  vestments,  and 
began  to  celebrate  mass.  Clery  waited  on  him,  and  the  King- 
listened,  kneeling  with  the  greatest  devotion.  He  then  re- 
ceived the  communion  from  the  hands  of  M.  Edgeworth,  and, 
after  mass,  rose  with  new  vigour,  and  awaited  with  composure 

*  See  Appendix  YY.  +  See  Appendix  ZZ. 


jan.  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  2  i  7 

the  moment  for  going  to  the  scaffold.  He  asked  for  scissors  that 
he  might  cut  his  hair  himself,  and  thus  escape  the  performance 
of  that  humiliating  operation  by  the  hand  of  the  executioner ; 
but  the  commune  refused  to  trust  him  with  a  pair. 

At  this  moment  the  drums  were  beating  in  the  capital.  All 
those  who  belonged  to  the  armed  sections  repaired  to  their 
company  with  complete  submission.  Those  who  were  not 
called  by  any  obligation  to  figure  on  that  dreadful  day  kept 
close  at  home.  Windows  and  doors  were  shut  up,  and  every 
one  awaited  in  his  own  habitation  the  melancholy  event.  It 
was  reported  that  four  or  five  hundred  devoted  men  were  to 
make  a  dash  upon  the  carriage  and  rescue  the  King.*  The 
Convention,  the  commune,  the  executive  council,  and  the 
Jacobins  were  sitting. 

At  eight  in  the  morning,  Santerre,  with  a  deputation  of  the 
commune,  the  department,  and  the  criminal  tribunal,  repaired 
to  the  Temple.  Louis  XVI.,  on  hearing  the  noise,  rose  and 
prepared  to  depart.  He  had  declined  seeing  his  family  again, 
to  avoid  the  renewal  of  the  painful  scene  of  the  preceding 
evening.  He  desired  Clery  to  transmit  his  last  farewell  to 
his  wife,  his  sister,  and  his  children :  he  gave  him  a  sealed 
packet,  hair,  and  various  trinkets,  with  directions  to  deliver 
these    articles    to   them.f       He    then    clasped    his   hand,    and 

*  "  While  they  were  conveying  the  King  from  the  Temple  to  the  place  of 
execution,  the  train  was  followed  by  two  men  in  arms,  who  went  into  all  the 
colfee-houses  and  public  places,  and  asked,  with  loud  cries,  if  there  were  still 
any  loyal  subjects  left  who  were  ready  to  die  for  their  King  !  But  such  was  the 
universal  terror  that  nobody  joined  them ;  and  they  both  arrived  without  any 
increase  of  their  party  at  the  place  of  execution,  where  they  slipped  off  in  the 
crowd.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  some  timid  people,  well  affected  to  the  King,  had 
formed  an  association  of  eighteen  hundred  persons,  who  were  to  cry  out  '  Pardon  ! ' 
before  the  execution.  But  of  those  eighteen  hundred,  only  one  man  had  the 
courage  to  do  his  duty,  and  he,  it  is  said,  was  instantly  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
populace. " — Peltier. 

t  "  In  the  course  of  the  morning  the  King  said  to  me,  '  You  will  give  this  seal 
to  my  son,  and  tins  ring  to  the  Queen,  and  assure  her  that  it  is  with  pain  I  part 
with  it.  This  little  packet  contains  the  hair  of  all  my  family  ;  you  will  give  her 
that  ton.  Tell  the  Queen,  my  dear  sister,  and  my  children,  that,  although  1 
promised  to  see  them  again  this  morning,  I  have  resolved  to  spare  them  the  pang 
of  so  cruel  a  separation.  Tell  them  how  much  it  costs  me  to  go  away  without 
receiving  their  embraces  once  more!'  He  wiped  away  some  tears;  and  then 
added  in  the  most  mournful  accents,  'I  charge  you  to  bear  them  my  last 
farewell.'"— Clery. 

"On  the  morning  of  this  terrible  day  the  Princesses  rose  at  six  o'clock.  The 
night  before,  the  Queen  had  scarcely  strength  enough  t<>  put  her  sun  to  bed. 
She  threw  herself,  dressed  as  she  was,  upon  her  own  bed,  where  she  was  heard 
shivering  with  cold  ami  grief  all  nighl  long!  At  a  quarter  past  six  the  door 
opened  :  the  Princesses  believed  they  were  sent  for  to  see  the  King;  but  it  was 
only  the  officers  looking  for  a  prayer-booh  for  his  mass.  They  did  not,  how- 
ever, abandon  tie-  hope  of  seeing  him,  till  the  shouts  of  joy  of  the  unprincipled 
populace  announced  to  them  thai  ;ill  was  over."—DueJie88e  d'AngouUme. 


218  HISTORY  OF  JAN.  1793 

thanked  him  for  his  services.  After  this  he  addressed  himself 
to  one  of  the  municipal  officers,  requesting  him  to  transmit 
his  last  will  to  the  commune.  This  officer,  who  had  formerly 
been  a  priest,  and  was  named  Jacques  Koux,  brutally  replied 
that  his  business  was  to  conduct  him  to  execution,  and  not  to 
perform  his  commissions.  Another  person  took  charge  of  it, 
and  Louis,  turning  towards  the  party,  gave  with  firmness  the 
signal  for  starting.* 

Officers  of  gendarmerie  were  placed  on  the  front  seat  of 
the  carriage.  The  King  and  M.  Edgeworth  occupied  the 
back.f  During  the  drive,  which  was  rather  long,  the  King 
read  in  M.  Edgeworth's  breviary  the  prayers  for  persons  at 
the  point  of  death ;  and  the  two  gendarmes  were  confounded 
at  his  piety  and  tranquil  resignation.  They  had  orders,  it  was 
said,  to  despatch  him  if  the  carriage  should  be  attacked.  No 
hostile  demonstration,  however,  took  place  from  the  Temple 
to  the  Place  de  la  Revolution.  An  armed  multitude  lined  the 
way.  The  vehicle  advanced  slowly,  and  amidst  a  universal 
silence.  At  the  Place  de  la  Revolution  an  extensive  space  had 
been  left  vacant  about  the  scaffold.  Around  this  space  were 
planted  cannon ;  the  most  violent  of  the  federalists  were 
stationed  about  the  scaffold ;  and  the  vile  rabble,  always  ready 
to  insult  genius,  virtue,  and  misfortune,  when  a  signal  is  given 
it  to  do  so,  crowded  behind  the  ranks  of  the  federalists,  and 
alone  manifested  some  outward  tokens  of  satisfaction ;  whilst 
all  else  buried  in  the  recesses  of  their  hearts  the  feelings  which 
they  experienced. 

At  ten  minutes  past  ten  the  carriage  stopped.  Louis  XVI., 
rising  briskly,  stepped  out  into  the  Place.  Three  executioners  % 
came  up ;  he  refused  their  assistance,  and  stripped  off  his 
clothes  himself.  But  perceiving  that  they  were  going  to  bind 
his  hands,  he  betrayed  a  movement  of  indignation,  and  seemed 
ready  to  resist.  M.  Edgeworth,  whose  every  expression  was 
then  sublime,  gave  him  a  last  look,  and  said,  "  Suffer  this 
outrage,  as  a  last  resemblance  to  that  God  who  is  about  to  be 
your  reward."  At  these  words,  the  victim,  resigned  and  sub- 
missive, suffered  himself  to  be  bound  and  conducted  to  the 
scaffold.  All  at  once  Louis  took  a  hasty  step,  separated  him- 
self from  the  executioners,  and  advanced  to  address  the  people. 
'•  Frenchmen,"  said  he,  in  a  firm  voice,  "  I  die  innocent  of  the 
crimes  which  are  imputed  to  me  ;  I  forgive  the  authors  of  my 
death,  and  I  pray  that  my  blood  may  not  fall  upon  France." 
lie  would  have  continued,  but  the  drums  were  instantly  ordered 

*  See  Appendix  AAA.  t  See  Appendix  BBB. 

£  See  Appendix  CCC. 


jan.  1793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  219. 

to  beat :  their  rolling  drowned  the  voice  of  the  Prince  ;  the 
executioners  laid  hold  of  him,  and  M.  Edge  worth  took  his 
leave  in  these  memorable  words  :  "  Son  of  St.  Louis,  ascend 
to  Heaven  !  "  As  soon  as  the  blood  flowed,  furious  wretches 
dipped  their  pikes  and  their  handkerchiefs  in  it,|  spread  them- 
selves throughout  Paris,  shouting  Vive  la  Republique  !  Vive  la 
Nation  !  and  even  went  to  the  gates  of  the  Temple  to  display 
that  brutal  and  factious  joy  which  the  rabble  manifests  at  the 
birth,  the  accession,  and  the  fall  of  all  princes.^ 

*  "The  Abbe  Edgeworth  has  been  asked  if  he  recollected  to  have  made  this 
exclamation.  He  replied,  that  he  could  neither  deny  nor  affirm  that  he  had 
spoken  the  words.  It  was  possible,  he  added,  that  he  might  have  pronounced 
them  without  afterwards  recollecting  the  fact,  for  that  he  retained  no  memory 
of  anything  which  happened  relative  to  himself  at  that  awful  moment.  His 
not  recollecting  or  recording  the  words  is  perhaps  the  best  proof  that  they  were 
spoken  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment." — Memoirs  of  the  Abbe  Edgeworth. 

t  "One  person  actually  tasted  the  blood,  with  a  brutal  exclamation  that  it 
was  'shockingly  bitter  ;'  and  the  hair  and  pieces  of  the  dress  were  sold  by  the 
attendants.  No  strong  emotion  was  evinced  at  the  moment;  the  place  was 
like  a  lair  ;  but  a  few  days  after,  Paris,  and  those  who  had  voted  for  the  death 
of  the  monarch,  began  to  feel  serious  and  uneasy  at  what  thev  had  done." 

X  See  Appendix  HDD. 


THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION— continued. 

TI1HE  death  of  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  had  excited  pro- 
JL  found  terror  in  France,  and  in  Europe  a  mingled  feeling 
of  astonishment  and  indignation.  As  the  most  clear-sighted 
Revolutionists  had  foreseen,  the  mortal  conflict  had  now  begun, 
and  all  retreat  was  irrevocably  cut  off.  They  must  therefore 
combat  the  coalition  of  the  thrones  and  conquer  it,  or  perish 
under  its  blows.  Accordingly  it  was  said  in  the  Assembly,  at 
the  Jacobins,  in  short,  everywhere,  that  it  behoved  them  to 
devote  their  whole  attention  to  external  defence ;  and  from 
that  moment  questions  of  war  and  finance  were  constantly  the 
order  of  the  day. 

We  have  seen  with  what  dread  each  of  the  two  domestic 
parties  inspired  the  other.  The  Jacobins  regarded  the  resist- 
ance opposed  to  the  condemnation  of  Louis  XVI. ,  and  the 
horror  excited  in  many  departments  by  the  excesses  com- 
mitted since  the  ioth  of  August,  as  a  dangerous  relic  of 
royalism.  They  had  therefore  doubted  their  victory  till  the 
very  last  moment ;  but  the  easy  execution  of  the  ~2 1  st  of 
-January  had  at  length  given  them  fresh  confidence.  They 
had  since  begun  to  conceive  that  the  cause  of  the  Revolution 
might  be  saved ;  and  they  prepared  addresses  to  enlighten  the 
departments,  and  to  complete  their  conversion.  The  Girondins, 
on  the  contrary,  already  touched  by  the  fate  of  the  victim,  and 
alarmed  besides  at  the  victory  of  their  adversaries,*  began  to 
discover  in  the  event  of  the  21st  of  January  the  prelude  to 
long  and  sanguinary  atrocities,  and  the  first  act  of  the  inexor- 
able system  which  they  were  combating.  The  prosecution  of 
the  authors  of  September  had,  it  is  true,  been  granted  to 
them ;  but  this  was  a  concession  without  result.  In  aban- 
doning Louis  XVI.  they  meant  to  prove  that  they  were  not 
royalists ;  and  by  giving  up  the  Septembrizers  to  them  their 

*  "  The  Mountaineers,  by  the  catastrophe  of  the  21st  of  January,  had  obtained 
a  great  victory  over  the  Girondins,  who  had  a  system  of  politics  far  more  rigid 
than  their  own,  and  who  wished  to  save  the  Revolution  without  staining  it  with 
blood.  Hence  they  were  accused  of  being  enemies  to  the  people,  because  they 
raised  their  voice  against  their  excesses  ;  and  with  betraying  the  republic,  because 
they  recommended  moderation." — Mignet. 


jan.  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  2  i 

opponents  meant  to  prove  that  they  were  not  protectors  of 
crime ;  but  this  twofold  proof  had  not  satisfied  or  cheered 
anybody.  They  were  still  considered  as  first  republicans  and 
almost  royalists,  and  they  still  viewed  their  adversaries  as  foes 
athirst  for  blood  and  carnage.  Eoland,  utterly  discouraged, 
not  by  the  danger,  but  by  the  manifest  impossibility  to  be 
serviceable,  resigned  on  the  23rd  of  January.  The  Jacobins 
rejoiced  at  this  circumstance ;  but  they  immediately  cried  out 
that  the  traitors  Olavieres  and  Lebrun,  whom  the  intriguing 
Brissot  had  made  his  tools,  were  still  in  the  administration ; 
that  the  evil  was  not  wholly  remedied ;  that  they  ought  not 
to  relax,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  redouble  their  zeal,  till  they 
had  removed  from  the  government  the  intriguers,  the  Girondins, 
the  Rolandins,  the  Brissotins,  &c.  The  Girondins  immediately 
demanded  the  reorganization  of  the  ministry  of  war,  which 
Pache,  from  his  weakness  towards  the  Jacobins,  had  brought 
into  the  most  deplorable  state. 

Thus  the  two  leaders  who  divided  the  administration  between 
them,  and  whose  names  had  become  the  two  opposite  rallying- 
points,  were  excluded  from  the  government.  The  majority  of 
the  Convention  imagined  that  in  this  they  had  done  something 
in  favour  of  peace ;  as  if,  in  suppressing  the  names  which  the 
passions  made  use  of,  those  passions  themselves  were  not  left 
to  find  new  names  and  to  continue  the  conflict.  Beurnon- 
ville,  the  friend  of  Dumouriez,  surnamed  the  French  Ajax,  was 
called  to  the  war  department.  He  was  as  yet  known  to  the 
parties  by  his  bravery  alone ;  but  his  attachment  to  discipline 
was  soon  to  bring  him  into  opposition  with  the  unruly  spirit 
of  the  Jacobins.  After  these  measures,  questions  of  finance, 
which  were  of  the  utmost  importance  at  this  critical  moment, 
when  the  Revolution  had  to  combat  all  Europe,  were  placed 
1 1 1  >on  the  order  of  the  day.  At  the  same  time  it  was  decided 
that  in  a  fortnight  at  the  latest  the  committee  of  the  consti- 
tution should  present  its  report,  and  that  immediately  after- 
wards the  subject  of  public  instruction  should  be  taken  up. 

A  great  number  of  people,  not  comprehending  the  cause1  of 
the  revolutionary  disturbances,  imagined  that  all  the  calamities 
of  the  State  were  occasioned  by  defective  laws,  and  that  the 
constitution  would  put  an  end  to  all  these  disorders.  Accord- 
ingly a  great  part  of  the  Girondins  and  all  the  members  of 
Hie  Plain  kept  incessantly  demanding  the  constituiiou,  and 
complaining  that  it  was  delayed,  saying  that  their  mission  was 
to  complete  it.  They  really  believed  so ;  they  all  imagined 
that  they  had  been  deputed  for  this  object  alone,  and  that  it 
was  a  business   which   might  be  performed  in   a   few  months. 


222  EISTOB  Y  OF  j an.  1 7 9  3 

They  were  not  yet  aware  that  fate  had  called  them  not  to 
constitute,  but  to  fight ;  that  their  terrible  mission  was  to 
defend  the  Revolution  against  Europe  and  La  Vendee ;  that 
very  soon  they  were  to  change  from  a  deliberative  body,  which 
they  were,  to  a  sanguinary  dictatorship,  which  should  at  one 
and  the  same  time  proscribe  internal  enemies,  battle  with 
Europe  and  the  revolted  provinces,  and  defend  itself  on  all 
sides  by  violence ;  that  their  laws,  transient  as  a  crisis,  would 
be  considered  as  merely  fits  of  anger ;  and  that  the  only  part 
of  their  work  destined  to  subsist  was  the  glory  of  the  defence, 
the  sole  and  terrible  mission  which  they  had  received  from 
fate ;  neither  did  they  yet  perceive  that  this  ought  to  be  the 
only  one. 

However,  whether  from  the  lassitude  of  a  long  struggle,  or 
from  the  unanimity  of  opinions  on  questions  of  war,  all  agreed 
upon  the  point  of  defending  themselves,  and  even  of  provoking 
the  enemy.  A  sort  of  calm  succeeded  the  terrible  agitation 
produced  by  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI. ;  and  Brissot  was  still 
applauded  for  his  diplomatic  reports  against  the  foreign 
powers. 

Such  was  the  internal  situation  of  France,  and  the  state  of 
the  parties  which  divided  it.  Its  situation  in  regard  to  Europe 
was  alarming.  It  was  a  general  rupture  with  all  the  powers. 
France  had  hitherto  had  but  three  enemies — Piedmont,  Austria, 
and  Prussia.  The  Revolution,  everywhere  approved  by  the 
people  according  to  the  degree  of  their  enlightenment,  every- 
where hateful  to  the  governments  according  to  the  degree  of 
their  apprehensions,  had  nevertheless  produced  perfectly  new 
impressions  on  the  world  by  the  terrible  events  of  the  ioth 
of  August,  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  September,  and  the  21st  of 
January.  Less  disdained  since  it  had  so  energetically  de- 
fended itself,  but  less  esteemed  since  it  had  sullied  itself  by 
crime,  it  had  not  ceased  to  excite  as  deep  an  interest  in  the 
people,  and  to  be  treated  with  as  much  scorn  by  the  govern- 
ments. 

The  war  therefore  was  about  to  become  general.  We 
have  seen  Austria  suffering  herself  to  be  involved  by  family 
connections  in  a  war  by  no  means  serviceable  to  her  interests. 
We  have  seen  Prussia,  whose  natural  interest  it  was  to  ally 
herself  with  France  against  the  head  of  the  empire,  marching 
for  the  most  frivolous  reasons  beyond  the  Rhine,  and  com- 
promizing her  armies  in  the  Argonne.  We  have  seen 
Catherine,*    formerly    a    philosopher,    deserting,   like    all    the 

*  See  Appendix  EEE. 


JAN.  1793        TEE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  223 

courtiers,  the  cause  which  she  had  at  first  espoused  from 
vanity ;  persecuting'  the  Revolution  at  once  from  fashion 
and  from  policy ;  exciting  Gustavus,  the  Emperor  of  Austria, 
and  the  King  of  Prussia,  to  divert  their  attention  from  Poland, 
and  to  engage  them  with  the  West.  We  have  seen  Piedmont 
attacking  Prance  contrary  to  her  interests,  but  for  reasons 
of  relationship  and  hatred  of  the  Revolution.  We  have 
seen  the  petty  Courts  of  Italy  detesting  our  new  republic, 
but  not  daring  to  attack,  nay,  even  acknowledging  it  at 
sight  of  our  flag  ;  Switzerland  preserving  a  strict  neutrality  ; 
Holland  and  the  Germanic  Diet  not  yet  speaking  out,  but 
betraying  a  deep  grudge ;  Spain  observing  a  prudent  neu- 
trality under  the  influence  of  the  wise  Count  d'Aranda  ; 
lastly,  England  suffering  France  to  tear  herself  to  pieces,  the 
continent  to  exhaust  itself,  the  colonies  to  lay  themselves 
waste,  and  thus  leaving  the  execution  of  her  vengeance  to 
the  inevitable  disorders  of  revolutions. 

The  new  revolutionary  impetuosity  was  about  to  disconcert- 
all  these  calculated  neutralities.  Thus  far  Pitt  had  shown 
sound  judgment  in  the  line  of  conduct  which  he  adopted. 
In  his  country  a  half-and-half  revolution,  which  had  but 
in  part  regenerated  the  social  state,  had  left  a  number  of 
feudal  institutions  standing,  which  could  not  but  be  objects 
of  attachment  to  the  aristocracy  and  the  Court,  and  objects 
of  censure  with  the  Opposition.  Pitt  had  a  double  aim  :  in 
the  first  place,  to  moderate  the  aristocratic  hatred,  to  repress 
the  spirit  of  reform,  and  thus  to  secure  his  administration 
by  controlling  both  parties  ;  secondly,  to  crush  France  beneath 
her  own  disasters  and  the  hatred  which  all  the  governments 
of  Europe  bore  against  her.  He  wished,  in  short,  to  make 
his  country  mistress  of  the  world,  and  to  be  master  of  his 
country.  Such  was  the  twofold  object  which  he  pursued 
with  the  vanity  and  the  strength  of  mind  of  a  great  statesman. 
Neutrality  was  wonderfully  favourable  to  his  projects.  Wliile 
preventing  war.  he  repressed  the  blind  hatred  of  his  Court  for 
liberty;  while  leaving  the  excesses  of  the  French  Revolution 
to  develop  themselves  without  impediment,  he  daily  made 
cutting  replies  to  the  apologists  of  that  Revolution — replies 
which  prove  nothing,  but  which  produce  a  certain  effect.  He 
answered  Fox.  the  most  eloquent  speaker  of  the  Opposition 
and  of  England,  by  reciting  the  crimes  of  reformed  France. 
Burke,*  a  vehement  orator,  was  employed  1"  enumerate  those 
crimes,  and  he  did  it  with  an  absurd  violence.      One  day   lie 

*  See  Appondix  FFF. 


224  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

even  went  so  far  as  to  throw  upon  the  table  a  dagger  which, 
he  said,  was  manufactured  by  the  Jacobin  propagandists. 
While  in  Paris  Pitt  was  accused  of  paying  emissaries  to  excite 
disturbances  ;  in  London  he  accused  the  French  Revolutionists 
of  spending  money  to  excite  revolutions,  and  our  emigrants 
accredited  these  rumours  by  repeating  them.  While  by  this 
Machiavellian  logic  he  counteracted  the  spells  which  French 
liberty  would  have  thrown  over  the  English,  he  excited  Europe 
against  us,  and  his  envoys  disposed  all  the  powers  to  war. 
In  Switzerland  he  had  not  succeeded ;  but  at  the  Hague,  the 
docile  Stadtholder,  tried  by  a  first  revolution,  still  distrustful 
of  his  people,  and  having  no  other  support  than  the  English 
fleets,  had  given  him  a  sort  of  satisfaction,  and  had  by  many 
hostile  demonstrations  testified  his  ill-will  to  France. 

It  was  in  Spain  more  particularly  that  Pitt  set  intrigues 
at  work,  to  urge  her  to  the  greatest  blunder  she  ever  com- 
mitted— that  of  joining  England  against  France,  her  only 
maritime  ally.  The  Spaniards  had  been  little  moved  by  our 
Revolution  ;  and  it  was  not  so  much  reasons  of  safety  and 
policy,  as  reasons  of  kindred,  repugnances  common  to  all 
governments,  that  indisposed  the  Cabinet  of  Madrid  towards 
the  French  republic.  The  prudent  Count  d'Aranda,  resisting 
the  intrigues  of  the  emigrants,  the  spleen  of  the  aristocracy, 
and  the  suggestions  of  Pitt,  had  studiously  forborne  to  wound 
the  susceptibility  of  our  new  government.  Overthrown,  how- 
ever, at  length,  and  replaced  by  Don  Manuel  Godoy,  afterwards 
Prince  of  the  Peace,*  he  left  his  unhappy  country  a  -prey  to 
the  worst  counsels.  Till  then  the  Cabinet  of  Madrid  had 
refused  to  speak  out  in  regard  to  France.  At  the  moment 
of  the  definitive  judgment  of  Louis  XVI.  it  had  offered  the 
political  acknowledgment  of  the  French  repiiblic,  and  its 
mediation  with  all  the  powers,  if  the  dethroned  monarch 
were  suffered  to  live.  The  only  answer  to  this  offer  was  a 
proposal  of  war  by  Danton,  and  the  Assembly  adopted  the 
order  of  the  day.  Ever  since  that  time  the  disposition  to 
war  had  not  been  doubtful.  Catalonia  was  filling  with 
troops.  In  all  the  ports  armaments  were  in  active  progress, 
and  a  speedy  attack  was  resolved  upon.  Pitt  triumphed, 
therefore,  and  without  yet  declaring  himself,  without  com- 
mitting himself  too  hastily,  he  gained  time  to  raise  his  navy 
to  a  formidable  state,  he  gratified  the  British  aristocracy  by 
his  preparations,  he  rendered  our  Revolution  unpopular  by 
declamations  which  he  paid  for  ;  and  while  he  thus  streng- 

*  See  Appendix  GGG. 


jan.  1793         THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  2  2  5 

thened  himself  in  silence,  he  prepared  for  us  an  overwhelming 
league,  which,  by  employing  all  our  forces,  prevented  us  from 
succouring  our  colonies,  or  checking  the  progress  of  the  British 
power  in  India. 

Never  at  any  period  had  Europe,  seized  with  such  blind- 
ness, been  known  to  commit  so  many  faults  against  herself. 
In  the  West,  Spain,  Holland,  all  the  maritime  powers,  were 
seen,  misled  by  the  aristocratic  passions,  arming  with  their 
enemy,  England,  against  France,  their  only  ally.  Prussia 
again  was  seen,  from  an  inconceivable  vanity,  uniting  with  the 
head  of  the  empire  against  France,  an  alliance  with  which  had 
always  been  recommended  by  the  great  Frederick.  The  petty 
King  of  Sardinia  committed  the  same  fault,  from  more  natural 
motives  indeed — those  of  relationship.  In  the  East  and  North, 
Catherine  was  allowed  to  perpetrate  a  crime  upon  Poland,  an 
attempt  against  the  safety  of  Germany,  for  the  frivolous 
advantage  of  gaining  a  few  provinces,  and  to  enable  herself 
still  to  tear  France  to  pieces  without  hindrance.  Renouncing, 
therefore,  at  once  all  old  and  useful  friendships,  the  nations 
yielded  to  the  perfidious  suggestions  of  the  two  most  formidable 
powers,  to  arm  against  our  unfortunate  country,  the  ancient 
protectress  or  ally  of  those  which  now  attacked  her.  All  con- 
tributed to  this,  all  lent  themselves  to  the  views  of  Pitt  and 
Catherine;  imprudent  Frenchmen  traversed  Europe  to  hasten 
this  fatal  overthrow  of  policy  and  prudence,  and  to  draw  down 
upon  their  native  land  the  most  tremendous  storms.  And 
what  could  be  the  motives  for  pursuing  such  a  strange  course? 
Poland  was  delivered  up  to  Catherine,  France  to  Pitt,  because 
the  one  was  desirous  of  regulating  her  ancient  liberty,  and  the 
other  had  resolved  to  give  to  herself  that  liberty  which  she  had 
not,  yet  possessed.  France  had,  it  is  true,  committed  excesses  ; 
but  these  excesses  woe  about  to  be  increased  by  the  violence 
of  the  struggle;  and  without  destroying  that  detested  liberty, 
the  allies  were  about  to  prepare  a  thirty  years'  war  of  the 
most  sanguinary  kind,  to  provoke  vast  invasions,  to  call  a 
conqueror  into  existence,  to  produce  immense  disorders,  and 
to  conclude  by  the  establishment  of  the  two  colossal  powers 
which  now  control  Europe  on  the  two  elements — England  and 
llu^sia. 

Amidst  this  general  conspiracy.  Denmark  alone  under  I  lie 
guidance  of  an  able  minister,  and  Sweden,  delivered  from  the 
presumptuous  dreams  of  Gustavus,  maintained  a  wise  reserve, 
which  Holland  and  Spain  ought  to  have  imitated  by  joining 
(lie  system  of  armed  neutrality.  The  ImviicIi  government  had 
justly  appreciated  these  general  dispositions,  and  the  impatience 

vol.  11.  I;1 


226  HISTORY  OF  j an.  1793 

which  characterized  it  at  this  moment  would  not  allow  it  to 
wait  for  the  declarations  of  war,  but  urged  it,  011  the  contrary, 
to  provoke  them.  Ever  since  the  10th  of  August  it  had  not 
ceased  demanding  to  be  acknowledged ;  but  it  had  still  shown 
some  moderation  in  regard  to  England,  whose  neutrality  was 
valuable  on  account  of  the  enemies  which  it  had  to  combat. 
13ut  after  the  21st  of  January  it  had  set  aside  all  considera- 
tions, and  determined  upon  a  universal  war.  Seeing  that  secret 
hostilities  were  not  less  dangerous  than  open  hostilities,  it  was 
impatient  to  compel  its  enemies  to  declare  themselves  ;  accord- 
ingly, on  the  22nd  of  January,  the  National  Convention  took  a 
review  of  all  the  Cabinets,  ordered  reports  relative  to  the  con- 
duct of  each  in  regard  to  France,  and  prepared  to  declare  war 
against  them  if  they  did  not  forthwith  explain  themselves  in  a 
categorical  manner. 

Ever  since  the  10th  of  August  England  had  withdrawn  her 
ambassador  from  Paris,  and  had  suffered  M.  de  Chauvelin,*  the 
French  ambassador  in  London,  to  remain  only  in  the  character 
of  the  envoy  of  dethroned  royalty.  All  these  diplomatic  sub- 
tilties  had  no  other  aim  than  to  satisfy  eticpiette  in  regard  to 
the  King  confined  in  the  Temple,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
defer  hostilities  which  it  was  not  yet  convenient  to  commence. 
Meanwhile  Pitt,  to  cloak  his  real  intentions,  applied  for  a 
secret  envoy  to  whom  he  might  communicate  his  complaints 
against  the  French  government.  Citizen  Maret  t  was  sent  in 
the  month  of  December.  He  had  an  interview  with  Pitt. 
After  mutual  protestations,  for  the  purpose  of  declaring  that 
the  interview  had  no  official  character,  that  it  was  purely 
amicable,  and  that  it  had  no  other  motive  than  to  enlighten 
the  two  nations  on  the  subject  of  their  reciprocal  grievances, 
Pitt  complained  that  France  threatened  the  allies  of  England, 
that  she  even  attacked  their  interests,  and  cited  Holland  as  a 
proof.  The  principal  grievance  alleged  was  the  opening  of  the 
Scheldt,  perhaps  an  imprudent  but  yet  a  generous  measure 
which  the  French  had  taken  on  entering  the  Netherlands.  It 
was  absurd,  in  fact,  that  in  order  to  secure  to  the  Dutch  the 
monopoly  of  the  navigation,  the  Netherlands,  through  which 
the  Scheldt  runs,  should  not  be  allowed  to  make  use  of  that 
river.  Austria  had  not  dared  to  abolish  this  servitude  ;  but 
Dumouriez  had  done  so  by  order  of  his  government ;  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Antwerp  had  with  joy  beheld  ships  ascend  the 
Scheldt  to  their  city.  The  answer  was  noble  and  easy,  for 
France,  in  respecting  the  rights  of  neutral  neighbours,  had  not 

*  See  Appendix  HUH.  +  See  Appendix  III. 


jan.  1793         THE  FRENCH  HE  VOL  UTION.  227 

promised  to  sanction  political  iniquities  because  neutrals  were 
interested  in  them,  besides,  the  Dutch  government  had  mani- 
fested so  much  ill-will  as  not  to  deserve  to  be  treated  with  such 
tenderness.  The  second  grievance  adduced  was  the  decree  of 
the  15th  of  November,  by  which  the  National  Convention  pro- 
mised assistance  to  all  those  nations  which  should  shake  oil" 
the  yoke  of  tyranny.  This  perhaps  imprudent  decree,  passed 
in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  was  not  to  be  construed,  as  Pitt 
asserted,  into  an  invitation  to  all  nations  to  rebel ;  but  signified, 
that  in  all  the  countries  at  war  with  the  Revolution,  aid  would 
be  afforded  to  the  people  against  their  governments.  Lastly, 
Pitt  complained  of  the  continual  threats  and  declamations  of 
the  Jacobins  against  all  governments.  In  this  respect  the 
governments  were  not  behindhand  with  the  Jacobins ;  and 
on  the  score  of  vituperation,  neither  side  was  in  debt  to 
the  other. 

This  interview  led  to  nothing,  and  only  showed  that  Eng- 
land merely  sought  to  delay  the  war,  which  she  had  no  doubt 
determined  upon,  but  which  it  did  not  yet  suit  her  to  declare. 
The  celebrated  trial  in  January  served,  however,  to  accelerate 
events :  the  English  Parliament  was  suddenly  called  together 
before  its  usual  time.  An  inquisitorial  law  was  enacted  against 
the  French  travelling  in  England ;  the  Tower  of  London  was 
armed ;  the  militia  was  ordered  out ;  preparations  and  pro- 
clamations announced  an  impending  war.  Pains  were  taken 
to  excite  the  populace  of  London,  and  to  kindle  that  blind 
passion  which  in  England  causes  war  with  France  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  great  national  service.  Lastly,  vessels  laden  with 
corn  and  bound  to  our  ports  were  stopped ;  and  on  the  news  of 
the  2 1st  of  January  the  French  ambassador,  whom  the  British 
government  had  till  then  in  some  sort  refused  to  recognize, 
\v;is  enjoined  to  leave  the  kingdom  in  a  week.  The  National 
(''invention  immediately  ordered  a  report  on  the  conduct  of 
the  English  government  towards  France,  and  on  its  communi- 
cations with  the  Stadtholder  of  the  United  Provinces;  and 
upon  the  1st  of  February,  after  a  speech  by  Brissot,  who  for 
a  moment  earned  the  applause  of  both  parties,  it  solemnly 
declared  war  against  Holland  and  England.  War  with  the 
Spanish  government  was  imminent,  and  though  not  yet  de- 
clared, it  was  considered  as  such.  Thus  France  had  all  Europe 
for  her  foe;  and  the  condemnation  of  the  21st  of  January  had 
Imtii  the  act  by  which  she  had  broken  with  all  thrones,  and 
pledged  herself  irrevocably  to  the  career  of  revolution. 

It  was  requisite  to  oppose  the  terrible  assauli  of  so  many 
combined  powers;  and  rich  as  France  was  in  population  and 


2  2  8  II IS  TOR  Y  OF  jan.  1793 

)iutl4riel,  it  was  difficult  for  her  to  withstand  the  universal  effort 
that  was  directed  against  her.  Her  chiefs  were  not  on  that 
account  the  less  filled  with  confidence  and  audacity.  The  un- 
expected successes  of  the  republic  in  the  Argonne  and  in 
Belgium  had  persuaded  them  that  every  man,  and  especially 
the  Frenchman,  may  become  a  soldier  in  six  months.  The 
movement  which  agitated  France  convinced  them,  moreover, 
that  her  whole  population  might  be  transferred  to  the  field 
of  battle;  that  thus  they  might  have  three  or  four  millions' 
of  men  capable  of  being  converted  into  soldiers,  and  surpass 
in  this  respect  all  that  the  combined  sovereigns  of  Europe 
were  able  to  do.  Look,  said  they,  at  all  the  kingdoms !  You 
see  a  small  number  of  men  raised  with  difficulty  to  fill  up  the 
skeletons  of  the  armies ;  the  entire  population  has  nothing  to 
do  with  them ;  so  that  a  handful  of  men,  trained  and  formed 
into  regiments,  decide  the  fate  of  the  mightiest  empires.  But 
suppose,  on  the  contrary,  a  whole  nation  torn  from  private  life, 
and  arming  for  its  defence,  must  it  not  overthrow  all  ordinary 
calculations  ?  What  is  there  impossible  for  twenty-five  millions 
of  men  to  execute  ?  As  for  the  expense,  they  felt  as  little  con- 
cern on  that  subject.  The  capital  of  the  national  property 
was  daily  increasing  in  consequence  of  emigration,  and  far 
exceeded  the  debt.  At  the  moment  this  capital  was  not 
available  for  want  of  purchasers ;  but  the  assignats  supplied 
their  place,  and  their  factitious  value  made  amends  for  the 
deferred  value  of  the  property  which  they  represented.  They 
were  indeed  reduced  to  one-third  of  their  nominal  value ;  but 
it  was  only  adding  one-third  to  the  circulation,  and  this  capital 
was  so  vast  that  it  more  than  sufficed  for  the  excess  which  it 
was  necessary  to  issue.  After  all,  those  men  who  were  about 
to  be  transferred  to  the  field  of  battle  lived  well  at  their  own 
homes,  many  of  them  even  in  luxury ;  why  should  they  not 
live  in  the  field  ?  Could  men  lack  soil  and  food  wherever  they 
might  happen  to  be  ?  Besides,  social  order,  such  as  it  was, 
possessed  more  wealth  than  was  requisite  to  supply  the  neces- 
sities of  all.  It  was  only  a  better  distribution  that  was  wanted  ; 
and  to  this  end  it  was  right  to  tax  the  rich,  and  to  make  them 
bear  the  expense  of  the  war.  Moreover,  the  States  into  which 
they  were  about  to  penetrate  had  also  an  ancient  social  order 
to  overturn,  and  abuses  to  destroy ;  they  had  immense  profits 
to  extract  from  the  clergy,  the  nobility,  royalty,  and  it  was  fit 
that  they  should  pay  France  for  the  aid  which  she  would 
furnish  them. 

Thus  argued  the  ardent  imagination  of  Oambon,  and  such 
ideas    seized    all    heads.       The    old    politics    of    Cabinets    had 


jan.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION  229 

formerly  calculated  upon  one  or  two  hundred  thousand  soldiers, 
paid  with  the  produce  of  certain  taxes  or  the  revenues  of 
certain  domains.  Now  it  was  a  mass  of  men,  rising  of  itself, 
and  saying,  /  will  compose  armies ;  looking  at  the  sum  total 
of  wealth,  and  again  saying,  That  sum  is  sufficient,  and  shared 
among  all,  it  tvill  suffice  for  the  wants  of  all.  It  was  not,  it  is 
true,  the  entire  nation  that  spoke  in  this  manner ;  but  it  was 
the  most  enthusiastic  portion  that  formed  these  resolutions,  and 
prepared  by  all  possible  means  to  impose  them  on  the  mass  of 
the  nation. 

Before  we  exhibit  the  distribution  of  the  resources  devised 
by  the  French  Revolutionists,  we  must  turn  to  our  frontiers 
and  see  how  the  last  campaign  terminated.  Its  outset  had 
been  brilliant ;  but  a  first  success,  badly  supported,  had  served 
only  to  extend  our  line  of  operations,  and  to  provoke  a  more 
vigorous  and  decisive  effort  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  Thus 
our  defence  had  become  more  difficult,  because  it  was  more 
extended.  The  beaten  enemy  was  about  to  react  with  energy, 
and  his  redoubled  effort  was  to  be  concurrent  with  an  almost 
general  disorganization  of  our  armies.  Add  to  this  that  the 
number  of  the  coalesced  powers  was  doubled  ;  for  the  English 
on  our  coasts,  the  Spaniards  on  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  Dutch 
in  the  north  of  the  Netherlands,  threatened  us  with  new 
attacks. 

Dumouriez  had  stopped  short  on  the  banks  of  the  Meuse, 
and  had  not  been  able  to  push  forward  to  the  Rhine,  for 
reasons  which  have  not  been  sufficiently  appreciated,  because 
people  have  not  been  able  to  account  for  the  tardiness  which 
succeeded  his  first  rapidity.  On  his  arrival  at  Liege  the 
disorganization  of  his  army  was  complete.  The  soldiers  were 
almost  naked;  for  want  of  shoes  they  wrapped  hay  round 
their  feet ;  meat  and  bread  were  all  that  they  had  in  any 
abundance,  thanks  to  a  contract  which  Dumouriez  had  authori- 
tatively maintained.  But  they  were  utterly  destitute  of  ready 
money,  and  plundered  the  peasants,  or  fought  with  them  to 
oblige  them  to  take  assignats.  The  horses  died  for  want  of 
forage,  and  those  of  the  artillery  had  almost  all  perished. 
Privations  and  the  suspension  of  military  operations  disgusted 
the  soldiers;  all  the  volunteers  quitted  in  bands,  on  the 
ngth  of  a  decree  declaring  that  the  country  had  ceased 
to  be  in  danger.  The  Convention  had  been  obliged  to  pass 
another  decree  to  preyeiil  the  desertion;  and  the  gendarmerie 
stationed  on  the  highroads  was  scarcely  able,  strict  as  it 
was.  to  stop  the  fugitives.  The  army  was  reduced  by  one- 
third. 


230  HISTORY  OF  jan.  1793 

These   combined   causes  had   not   allowed  the  Austrians  to 
be  pursued  so  briskly  as  they  ought  to  have  been.     Clairfayt 
had  had  time  to  entrench  himself  on  the  banks  of  the  Erft, 
and  Beaulieu  towards  Luxembourg ;  and  it  was  impossible  for 
Dumouriez,  with  an  army  dwindled  to  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
men,  to  drive  before  him  an  enemy  entrenched  in  the  moun- 
tains and  woods,  and  supported  upon  Luxembourg,  one  of  the 
strongest  fortresses  in  the  world.     If,  as  it  was  constantly  re- 
peated, Custine,  instead  of  making  incursions  into  Germany,  had 
made  a  dash  upon  Coblentz,  if  he  had  joined  Beurnonville,  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  Treves,  and  if  both  had  then  descended 
the   Rhine,   Dumouriez    also    might   have    advanced   to  it  by 
Cologne.     All  three  would  thus  have  supported  one  another ; 
Luxembourg  might  have   been  invested,  and  have  fallen  for 
want  of  communications.     But  nothing  of  the  sort  had  taken 
place.     Custine  had  been  desirous  of  drawing  the  war  to  his 
quarter,  and  had  done  no  more  than  uselessly  provoke  a  de- 
claration of  the  imperial  Diet,  irritate  the  vanity  of  the  King 
of  Prussia,  and  bind  him  further  to  the  coalition.     Beurnon- 
ville, left  single-handed,  had  not  been  able  to  reduce  Treves ; 
and  the  enemy  had  maintained  his  ground  both  in  the  elec- 
torate of  Treves  and  in  the  duchy  of  Luxembourg.    Dumouriez, 
in  advancing  towards  the  Rhine,  would  have  exposed  his  right 
flank  and  his  rear,  and  besides,  he  would  not  have  been  able, 
in  the  state  in  which  his  army  was,  to  reduce  the  immense 
tract  extending  from  the  Meuse  to  the  Rhine  and  the  frontiers 
of  Holland,  a  difficult  country,  without   means  of  transport, 
intersected  by  woods  and  mountains,  and  occupied  by  a  still 
formidable  enemy.     Assuredly,  Dumouriez,  had  he  possessed 
the  means,  would  much   rather  have  made  conquests  on  the 
Rhine,  than  have  gone  to  Paris  to  make  solicitations  in  behalf 
of  Louis  XVI.     The  zeal  for  royalty  which  he  afterwards  pro- 
fessed while  in  London,  in  order  to  give  himself  consequence, 
and  which  the  Jacobins  imputed  to  him  in  Paris,  in  order  to 
ruin  him,  was  certainly  not  strong  enough  to  induce  him  to 
renounce  victories,  and  to  go  and  compromise  himself  among 
the  factions   of  the   capital.     He   quitted  the   field   of  battle 
solely  because   he  could  do   no  more  there,  and  because  he 
wished  by  his  presence  with  the  government  to  put  an  end 
to  the  difficulties  which  had  been  raised   up   against  him  in 
Belgium. 

We  have  already  witnessed  the  difficulties  amidst  which 
his  conquest  placed  him.  The  conquered  country  desired  a 
revolution,  but  not  a  complete  and  radical  one,  like  the  Revolu- 
tion of  France.     Dumouriez,  from  inclination,  from  policy,  and 


jan.  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  R E  VOL  UTION.  2  3  1 

from  reasons  of  military  prudence,  could  do  nothing  but 
pronounce  in  favour  of  the  moderate  wishes  of  the  count  iv 
which  he  occupied.  We  have  already  seen  him  struggling  to 
spare  the  Belgians  the  inconveniences  of  war,  to  give  them  a 
share  in  the  profits  of  supplies,  and  lastly,  to  smuggle  rather 
than  force  assignats  into  circulation  among  them.  The  invec- 
tives of  the  Jacobins  paid  him  for  these  pains.  Cambon  had 
prepared  another  mortification  for  Dumouriez,  by  causing  the 
Assembly  to  pass  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  December.  "We 
must,"  said  Cambon,  amidst  the  loudest  applause,  "declare 
ourselves  a  revolutionary  power  in  the  countries  which  we 
enter.  It  is  useless  to  hide  ourselves.  The  despots  know  what 
we  mean.  Since  it  is  guessed,  let  us  boldly  proclaim  it,  and 
let,  moreover,  the  justice  of  it  be  avowed.  Wherever  our 
generals  enter,  let  them  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
the  abolition  of  feudalism,  of  tithes,  of  all  abuses ;  let  all  the 
old  authorities  be  dissolved ;  let  new  local  administrations  be 
provisionally  formed  under  the  direction  of  our  generals  ;  let 
these  administrations  govern  the  country,  and  devise  the  means 
of  forming  national  conventions,  which  shall  decide  its  lot  ; 
let  the  property  of  our  enemies,  that  is  to  say,  the  property 
of  tlic  nobles,  the  priests,  the  communities,  lay  or  religious, 
of  the  churches,  &c,  be  immediately  sequestrated  and  placed 
under  the  safeguard  of  the  French  nation,  which  shall  be 
accountable  for  it  to  the  local  administrations,  in  order  that  it 
may  serve  as  a  pledge  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  of  which 
the  delivered  countries  ought  to  pay  their  share,  because  the 
object  of  the  war  is  to  set  them  at  liberty.  Let  the  account  be 
balanced  after  the  campaign.  If  the  republic  has  received  in 
supplies  more  than  the  portion  of  the  expense  due  to  it  shall 
amount  to,  it  shall  pay  the  surplus;  if  otherwise,  the  balance 
shall  be  paid  to  it.  Let  our  assignats,  founded  on  the  new 
distribution  of  property,  be  received  in  the  concpiered  countries, 
and  let  their  Held  extend  with  the  principles  which  have  pro- 
duced them.  Lastly,  let  the  executive  power  send  commis- 
sioners to  make  friendly  arrangements  with  these  provisional 
administrations,  to  fraternize  with  them,  to  keep  the  accounts 
of  the  republic,  and  to  execute  the  decree  of  sequestration.  No 
hall'  revolution!"  added  Cambon.  "Every  nation  that  will 
not  go  the  length  which  we  here  propose  shall  be  our  enemy, 
and  shall  deserve  to  be  treated  as  such.  Peace  and  fraternity 
1o  ;ill  the  friends  of  liberty!  War  to  the  base  partisans  of 
despotism  !      War  to  the  mansions — peace  to  the  cottages  !  "  * 

*  "  '  War  tu  tin'  mansions — peace  to  the  cottages,'  was  the  principle  of  the 
French  Revolution.     Its  proclamation  necessarily  set  tin-  two  .lasses  of  society 


232  HISTOR  Y  OF  feb.  1793 

These  sentiments  had  been  immediately  sanctioned  by  a 
decree,  and  carried  into  execution  in  all  the  conquered  pro- 
vinces. A  host  of  agents,  selected  by  the  executive  power 
from  among  the  Jacobins,  immediately  spread  themselves  over 
Belgium.  The  provisional  administrations  had  been  formed 
under  their  influence,  and  they  impelled  them  to  the  excesses 
of  the  wildest  democracy.  The  populace,  excited  by  them 
against  the  middle  classes,  committed  the  greatest  outrages. 
The  anarchy  of  1793,  to  which  we  had  been  progressively  led 
by  four  years  of  commotion,  was  produced  there  abruptly, 
and  without  any  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  order  of 
things.  These  proconsuls,  invested  with  almost  absolute  power, 
caused  persons  and  property  to  be  imprisoned  and  sequestrated  ; 
they  stripped  the  churches  of  all  their  plate.  This  soured 
the  minds  of  the  unfortunate  Belgians,  who  were  strongly 
attached  to  their  religious  worship,  and  above  all,  furnished 
occasion  for  many  peculations.  They  caused  conventions  to 
be  formed  to  decide  the  fate  of  each  province,  and  under 
their  despotic  influence  the  incorporation  with  France  was 
voted  at  Liege,  Brussels,  Mons,  and  other  places.  These  were 
inevitable  evils,  and  so  much  the  greater,  as  revolutionary 
violence  combined  with  military  brutality  to  produce  them. 
Dissensions  of  a  different  kind  had  also  broken  out  in  this  un- 
happy country.  The  agents  of  the  executive  power  claimed 
obedience  to  their  orders  from  the  generals  who  were  within 
the  limits  of  their  district ;  and  if  these  generals  were  not 
Jacobins,  as  it  was  frequently  the  case,  this  was  a  new  occasion 
for  quarrels  and  wrangling,  which  contributed  to  augment  the 
general  disorder.  Dumouriez,  indignant  at  seeing  his  conquests 
compromized,  as  well  by  the  disorganization  of  his  army  as  by 
the  hatred  excited  in  the  Belgians,  had  already  harshly  treated 
some  of  the  proconsuls,  and  had  repaired  to  Paris  to  express 
his  indignation,  with  all  the  vivacity  of  his  character,  and  all 
the  independence  of  a  victorious  general  who  deemed  himself 
necessary  to  the  republic. 

Such  was  our  situation  on  this  principal  theatre  of  the  war. 
Oustine,  having  fallen  back  to  Mayence,  declaimed  there  on 
the  manner  in  which  Beurnonville  had  executed  the  attempt 
on  Treves.  At  the  Alps,  Kellermaim  maintained  his  positions 
at  Chambery  and  Nice.  Servan  strove  in  vain  to  compose  an 
army  at  the  Pyrenees  ;  and  Monge,  as  weak  towards  the  Jacobins 

throughout  Europe  at  variance  with  each  other ;  and  instead  of  the  ancient 
rivalry  of  kings,  introduced  the  fiercer  strife  of  the  people.  The  contest  hence- 
forth raged  not  only  between  nation  and  nation,  but  between  interest  and  interest ; 
and  the  strife  of  opinion  superseded  that  of  glory." — Alison. 


feb.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  233 

as  Pache  had  shown  himself,  had  suffered  the  administration 
of  the  marine  to  be  disorganized.  It  was  necessary,  therefore, 
to  direct  the  whole  public  attention  to  the  defence  of  the 
frontiers.  Dumonriez  had  passed  the  end  of  December  and 
the  month  of  January  in  Paris,  where  he  had  compromized 
himself  by  certain  expressions  in  favour  of  Louis  XVI. ;  by 
his  absence  from  the  Jacobins,  where  he  was  continually 
announced,  but  where  he  never  appeared  ;  and  lastly,  by  his 
intercourse  with  his  old  friend  Gensonne.  He  had  drawn  up 
four  memorials:  one  on  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  December. 
another  on  the  organization  of  the  army,  a  third  on  the  supplies, 
and  the  last  on  the  plan  of  campaign  for  the  }Tear  that  was 
commencing.  To  each  of  these  memorials  he  subjoined  his 
resignation  in  case  of  the  rejection  of  what  he  proposed. 

The  Assembly  had,  in  addition  to  its  diplomatic  committee 
and  its  military  committee,  appointed  a  third  extraordinary 
committee,  called  the  committee  of  general  defence,  authorized 
1  ( >  direct  its  attention  to  everything  that  concerned  the  defence 
of  France.  It  was  very  numerous,  and  even  all  the  members  of 
the  Assembly  might,  if  they  pleased,  attend  its  sittings.  The 
object  with  which  it  had  been  formed  wTas  to  conciliate  the 
members  of  the  opposite  parties,  and  to  make  them  easy  in 
regard  to  each  other's  intentions  by  causing  them  to  labour 
together  for  the  general  welfare.  Robespierre,  irritated  at 
seeing  Girondins  there,  rarely  attended:  the  Girondins,  on  the 
contrary,  were  very  assiduous.  Dumonriez  introduced  himself 
with  his  plans,  was  not  always  understood,  frequently  dis- 
pleased by  the  high  lone  which  he  assumed,  and  left  his 
memorials  to  their  fate.  He  then  retired  to  some  distance 
from  Paris,  by  no  means  disposed  to  resign  his  command, 
though  he  had  held  out  that  threat  to  the  Convention,  and 
awaited  the  moment  for  opening  the  campaign. 

He  had  entirely  lost  his  popularity  with  the  Jacobins,  and 
was  daily  traduced  in  Marat's  papers  for  having  supported  the 
half-and-half  revolution  in  Belgium,  and  there  shown  great 
severity  against  the  demagogues,  lie  was  accused  of  having 
wilfully  suffered  the  Austrians  to  escape  from  Belgium;  and 
going  back  still  farther,  his  enemies  publicly  asserted  that  be 
had  opened  the  outlets  of  the  Argonne  to  Frederick  William, 
whom  he  might  have  destroyed.  The  members  of  the  council 
and  of  the  committees,  who  did  net  give  themselves  up  so 
blindly  to  the  passions  which  swayed  the  rabble,  were  still 
sensible  of  his  utility,  and  still  courteous  to  him.  Robespierre 
even  defended  him  by  throwing  the  blame  of  all  these  faults 
upon  his  pretended  friends  the  Girondins.    Thus  people  agreed 


234  HISTOR  Y  OF  feb.  1793 

in  giving  him  all  possible  satisfaction,  without  derogating,  how- 
ever, from  the  decrees  that  had  been  passed,  and  the  rigorous 
principles  of  the  Revolution.  His  two  commissaries,  Mains 
and  Petit  Jean,  were  restored,  and  numerous  reinforcements 
were  granted  to  him  ;  he  was  promised  sufficient  supplies  ;  his 
ideas  for  the  general  plan  of  the  campaign  were  adopted  ;  but  no 
concession  was  made  as  to  the  decree  of  the  1 5th  of  December, 
and  the  new  appointments  in  the  army.  The  nomination  of 
his  friend  Beurnonville  to  the  war  department  was  a  new 
advantage  for  him,  and  he  had  reason  to  hope  for  the  greatest 
zeal  on  the  part  of  the  administration  to  furnish  him  with 
everything  of  which  he  stood  in  need. 

For  a  moment  he  had  imagined  that  England  would  take 
him  for  mediator  between  herself  and  France,  and  he  had  set 
out  for  Antwerp  with  this  flattering  notion.  But  the  Conven- 
tion, weary  of  the  perfidies  of  Pitt,  had,  as  we  have  seen, 
declared  war  against  Holland  and  England.  This  declaration 
found  him  at  Antwerp.  The  resolutions  adopted  in  part  from 
his  plans  for  the  defence  of  the  territory  were  these.  It  was 
agreed  to  increase  the  armies  to  502,000  men,  and  this  number 
was  small  according  to  the  idea  that  had  been  formed  of  the 
power  of  France,  and  in  comparison  with  the  force  to  which 
they  were  subsequently  raised.  It  was  determined  to  keep  the 
defensive  on  the  East  and  South,  to  remain  in  observation  along 
the  Pyrenees  and  the  coasts,  and  to  display  all  the  boldness 
of  the  offensive  in  the  North,  where,  as  Dumouriez  had  said, 
"there  was  no  defending  oneself  but  by  battles."  To- execute 
this  plan,  150,000  men  were  to  occupy  Belgium,  and  to  cover 
the  frontier  from  Dunkirk  to  the  Meuse ;  50,000  were  to  keep 
the  space  comprised  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Sarre  ;  1 50,000 
to  extend  themselves  along  the  Rhine  and  the  Vosges,  from 
Mayence  to  Besancon  and  Gex.  Lastly,  a  reserve  was  prepared 
at  Chalons,  with  the  requisite  materiel,  ready  to  proceed  to 
any  quarter  where  it  might  be  wanted.  Savoy  and  Nice  were 
to  be  guarded  by  two  armies  of  70,000  men  each  ;  the  Pyrenees, 
by  one  of  40,000 ;  the  coasts  of  the  ocean  and  of  Bretagne 
were  to  be  watched  by  an  army  of  46,000,  part  of  which  was 
destined  for  embarkation  if  it  were  necessary.  Of  these 
502,000  men,  50,000  were  cavalry,  and  20,000  artillery.  Such 
was  the  projected  force  ;  but  the  effective  was  far  inferior,  con- 
sisting of  only  270,000  men,  100,000  of  whom  were  in  different 
parts  of  Belgium,  25,000  on  the  Moselle,  45,000  at  Mayence, 
under  Custine,  30,000  on  the  Upper  Rhine,  40,000  in  Savoy 
and  at  Nice,  and  30,000  at  most  in  the  interior.  But  to 
complete  the  number  required,  the  Assembly  decreed  that  the 


feb.  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  3  5 

armies  should  be  recruited  from  the  national  guards  ;  and  that 
every  member  of  that  guard,  unmarried,  or,  if  married,  without 
children,  or  a  widower  without  children,  from  the  age  of 
eighteen  to  forty-five,  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  executive 
power.  It  added  that  300.000  more  men  were  necessary  to 
resist  the  coalition,  and  that  the  recruiting  should  not  cease 
till  that  number  was  raised.*  It  decreed  at  the  same  time  the 
issue  of  eight  hundred  millions  of  assign ats,  and  the  felling  of 
timber  in  Corsica  for  the  use  of  the  navy. 

While    these    plans   were    in   progress,    the    campaign    was 
opened  with    270,000   men.     Dumouriez   had   30,000  on  the 
Scheldt,  and  about  70.000  on  the  Meuse.     A  rapid  invasion  of 
Holland  was  a  bold  project,  which  agitated  all  heads,  and  into 
which    Dumouriez    was    forcibly   drawn    by   public    opinion. 
Several    plans    had    been    proposed.      One,    devised    by   the 
Batavian   refugees  who   had   quitted  their  country   after  the 
Kevolution  of  1787,  consisted  in  overrunning  Zealand  with  a 
few  thousand  men,  and  seizing  the  government,  which  would 
retire  thither.     Dumouriez  had  affected  to  approve  this  plan ; 
but    he    deemed    it    sterile,    because    it   was   confined   to   the 
occupation   of   an   inconsiderable   and   withal   an   unimportant 
portion  of  Holland.     The  second  was  his  own,  and  consisted 
in    descending  the    Meuse.    by  Yenloo  to   Grave,   turning  off 
from   Grave    to    Nimeguen.   and    then    making    a   dash    upon 
Amsterdam.     This  plan  would  have   been  the   safest   had  it 
been  possible  to  foresee  what  was  to  happen.     But  placed  at 
Antwerp.  Dumouriez  conceived  a  third,  bolder,  more  prompt, 
more    suitable    to    the    revolutionary    imagination,    and    more 
fertile    in   decisive   results  if  it    succeeded.      While   his   lieu- 
tenants,  Miranda,   Valence, f    Dampierre,   and    others,    should 
descend  the  Meuse,  and  occupy  Maestricht,  of  which  he  did 
not  care  to  make  himself  master  in  the  preceding  year,  and 
Venloo.  which  was  incapable  of  a  long  resistance.  Dumouriez 
proposed  to  take  with  him  25,000  men,  to  proceed  stealthily 
between  l>ergen-op-Zoom  and  Breda,  to  reach  in  this  manner 
the  Moenlvk.  to  cross  the  little  sea  of  Bielbos.  and  to  run  by 
the  mouths   of  the  rivers  to  Leyden  and  Amsterdam.     This 
hold  plan   was  quite  as  well  grounded  as  many  others  which 
liave  succeeded;  and  if   it  was   hazardous,  it  promised  much 
greater  advantages  than  that  of  a  direct  attack  by  Venloo  and 
Nimeguen.      By  pursuing  the  latter  course.  Dumouriez  would 
attack  the  Dutch,  who  had  already  made  all  their  preparations 
between  Grave  and  Gorcum,  in  front,  and  lie  would  even  give 

*  Decree  of  February  tlic  241)1.  I    Set  Appendix  JJJ. 


236  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  feb.  1793 

them  time  to  receive  English  and  Prussian  reinforcements. 
On  the  contrary,  in  advancing  by  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  he 
would  penetrate  by  the  interior  of  Holland,  which  was  utterly 
defenceless,  and  if  he  could  surmount  the  obstacle  of  the 
waters,  Holland  would  be  his.  In  returning  from  Amsterdam, 
he  would  take  the  defences  in  rear,  and  sweep  off  everything 
between  himself  and  his  lieutenants,  who  were  to  join  him  by 
Nimeguen  and  Utrecht. 

It  was  natural  that  he  should  take  the  command  of  the  army 
of  expedition,  because  it  was  this  service  that  required  the 
greatest  promptitude,  boldness,  and  ability.  This  project  was 
attended  with  the  same  danger  as  all  plans  of  offensive  war- 
fare, that  of  exposing  one's  own  country  to  the  risk  of  invasion 
by  leaving  it  uncovered.  Tims  the  Meuse  would  be  left  open 
to  the  Austrians  ;  but  in  the  case  of  a  reciprocal  offensive, 
the  advantage  remains  with  him  who  the  most  firmly  resists 
the  danger,  and  gives  way  the  least  readily  to  the  terror  of 
invasion. 

Dumouriez  despatched  to  the  Meuse,  Thouvenot,  in  whom  he 
had  the  utmost  confidence  ;  he  communicated  to  his  lieutenants 
Valence  and  Miranda  the  plans  which  he  had  hitherto  con- 
cealed from  them ;  he  recommended  to  them  to  hasten  the 
sieges  of  Maestricht  and  Venloo,  and  in  case  of  delay  to  succeed 
one  another  before  those  places,  so  as  to  be  still  making  pro- 
gress towards  Nimeguen.  He  also  enjoined  them  to  fix  rally- 
ing points  around  Liege  and  Aix-la-Chapelle,  for  the  purpose 
of  collecting  scattered  detachments,  and  of  enabling  themselves 
to  make  head  against  the  enemy,  if  he  should  come  in  force 
to  interrupt  the  sieges  which  were  to  be  carried  on  upon  the 
Meuse. 

Dumouriez  immediately  cpritted  Antwerp  with  eighteen 
thousand  men  assembled  in  haste.  He  divided  his  little  army 
into  several  corps,  which  were  to  summon  the  different  for- 
tresses, but  without  stopping  to  lay  siege  to  them.  His  ad- 
vanced guard  was  to  dash  on  and  secure  the  boats  and  the 
means  of  transport ;  while  himself,  with  the  main  body  of  the 
troops,  would  keep  within  such  a  distance  as  to  be  able  to 
afford  succour  to  any  of  his  lieutenants  who  might  need  it. 
On  the  17th  of  February  1793  he  entered  the  Dutch  territory, 
and  issued  a  proclamation  promising  friendship  to  the  Batavians, 
and  war  only  to  the  Stadtholder  and  the  English  influence.  He 
advanced,  leaving  General  Leclerc  before  Bergen-op-Zoom, 
directing  General  Bergeron  upon  Klundert  and  Willemstadt, 
and  ordering  the  excellent  engineer  d'Argon  to  feign  an  attack 
upon  the  important  fortress  of  Breda.     Dumouriez  was  with 


feb.  1793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  237 

the  rearguard  at  Sevenberghe.  On  the  25th  General  Bergeron 
made  himself  master  of  the  fort  of  Klundert,  and  proceeded 
before  Willemstadt.  General  d'Arcon  threw  a  few  bombs 
into  Breda.  That  place  was  reputed  to  be  very  strong ;  the 
garrison  was  sufficient,  but  badly  officered,  and  in  a  few  hours 
it  surrendered  to  an  army  of  besiegers  which  was  scarcely 
more  numerous  than  itself.  The  French  entered  Breda  on 
the  27th,  and  found  there  a  considerable  materiel,  consisting 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  three  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  of  powder,  and  five  thousand  muskets.  Having 
left  a  garrison  in  Breda,  General  d'Arcon  proceeded  on  the 
I  st  of  March  before  Gertruydenburg,  another  very  strong  place , 
and  on  the  same  day  made  himself  master  of  all  the  advanced 
works.  Dumouriez  had  pushed  on  to  the  Moerdyk,  and  was 
making  amends  for  the  tardiness  of  his  advanced  guard. 

This  series  of  successful  surprises  of  fortresses  capable  of 
long  resistance  threw  great  lustre  upon  the  opening  of  this 
campaign ;  but  unforeseen  obstacles  delayed  the  crossing  of 
the  arm  of  the  sea,  the  most  difficult  part  of  this  plan. 
Dumouriez  had  at  first  hoped  that  his  advanced  guard,  acting 
more  promptly,  would  have  seized  some  boats,  quietly  crossed 
the  Bielbos,  occupied  the  isle  of  Dort,  guarded  by  a  few  hundred 
men  at  the  utmost,  and  securing  a  numerous  flotilla,  would 
have  brought  it  back  to  the  other  side  to  carry  over  the  army. 
Inevitable  delays  prevented  the  execution  of  this  part  of  the 
plan.  Dumouriez  strove  to  make  amends  for  them  by  seizing 
all  the  craft  that  he  could  find,  and  collecting  carpenters  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  flotilla.  It  was  requisite,  however, 
to  use  the  utmost  despatch,  for  the  Dutch  army  was  assembling 
at  Gorcum,  at  the  Stry,  and  in  the  isle  of  Dort;  a  few  of  the 
enemy's  sloops  and  an  English  frigate  threatened  his  embarka- 
tion and  cannonaded  his  camp,  called  by  our  soldiers  the 
leavers'  Camp.  They  had  actually  built  hovels  of  straw. 
and  encouraged  by  the  presence  of  their  general,  they  braved 
cold,  privations,  dangers,  and  the  chances  of  so  bold  an  enter- 
prise, and  awaited  with  impatience  the  moment  for  crossing 
to  the  opposite  bank.  On  the  3rd  of  March  General  Deflers 
arrived  with  a  new  division.  On  the  4th,  Gertruydenburg 
opened  its  gates,  and  everything  was  ready  for  effecting  the 
passage  of  the  Bielbos. 

Meanwhile  the  struggle  between  the  two  parties  in  the 
interior  still  continued.  The  death  of  Lepelletier  had  already 
furnished  occasion  to  the  Mountaineers  to  assert  that  they 
were  personally  threatened;  and  the  Assembly  had  not  been 
able  to  refuse  to  renew,  on  their  motion,  the  committee  of 


238  HISTORY  OF  mak.  1793 

surveillance.  The  committee  had  been  composed  of  Moun- 
taineers, which  for  its  first  act  had  ordered  the  apprehension 
of  Gorsas,*  a  deputy  and  journalist  attached  to  the  interests 
of  the  Gironde.  The  Jacobins  had  obtained  another  advantage, 
namely,  the  suspension  of  the  prosecutions  decreed  on  the  20th 
of  January  against  the  authors  of  September.  No  sooner  were 
these  prosecutions  commenced  than  overwhelming  proofs  had 
been  discovered  against  the  principal  Revolutionists,  and  against 
Danton  himself.  The  Jacobins  then  started  up,  declaring  that 
everybody  was  culpable  on  those  days,  because  everybody  had 
deemed  them  necessary,  and  permitted  them.  They  even  had 
the  audacity  to  assert  that  the  only  fault  to  be  found  with 
those  days  was  that  they  had  been  left  incomplete  ;  and  they 
demanded  a  suspension  of  the  proceedings,  of  which  a  handle 
was  made  to  attack  the  purest  Revolutionists.  They  had 
carried  their  motion  ;  the  proceedings  were  suspended,  that 
is  to  say,  abolished  ;  and  a  deputation  of  Jacobins  had  im- 
mediately waited  on  the  minister  of  justice,  to  beg  that  extra- 
ordinary couriers  might  be  despatched  to  stop  the  proceedings 
already  commenced  against  the  brethren  of  Meaux. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Pache  had  been  obliged  to  quit 
the  ministry,  and  that  Roland  had  voluntarily  resigned.  This 
reciprocal  concession  had  not  allayed  animosities.  The  Jacobins, 
by  no  means  satisfied,  insisted  that  Roland  should  be  brought 
to  trial.  They  alleged  that  he  had  robbed  the  State  of  enor- 
mous sums,  and  placed  more  than  twelve  millions  in  Lon- 
don ;  that  those  funds  were  employed  in  perverting  -opinion 
by  publications,  and  in  exciting  disturbances  by  the  fore- 
stalling of  corn  :  they  demanded  also  that  prosecutions  should 
be  instituted  against  Clavieres,  Lebrun,  and  Beurnonville,  all 
traitors,  according  to  them,  and  accomplices  in  the  intrigues 
of  the  Girondins.  At  the  same  time  they  prepared  a  com- 
pensation of  a  very  different  kind  for  the  displaced  minister 
who  had  shown  them  so  much  complaisance.  Cambon,  the 
successor  of  Petion  in  the  mayoralty  of  Paris,  had  resigned 
functions  far  too  arduous  for  his  weakness.  The  Jacobins  in- 
stantly bethought  them  of  Pache,  in  whom  they  discovered 
the  wisdom  and  coolness  requisite  for  a  magistrate.  They 
applauded  themselves  for  this  idea,  communicated  it  to  the 
commune,  to  the  sections,  and  to  all  the  clubs  ;  and  the  Pari- 
sians, influenced  by  them,  avenged  Pache  for  his  dismissal 
by  electing  him  their  mayor.  Provided  Pache  should  prove 
as  docile  in  this  office  as  he  had  been  when  minister  at  war, 

*  See  Appendix  KKK. 


mae.  1793        THE  FRENCH  EE  VOL  UTION.  239 

the  sway  of  the  Jacobins  would  be  ensured  in  Paris  ;  and  in 
this  choice  they  had  consulted  their  advantage  not  less  than 
their  passions. 

The  dearth  of  provisions  and  the  embarrassments  of  trade 
still  occasioned  disturbances  and  complaints,  and  from  December 
to  February  the  evil  had  considerably  increased.     The  fear  of 
commotions   and   pillage,   the   dislike  of  the  farmers   to   take 
paper,  the  high   prices   arising  from  the   great  abundance  of 
that  fictitious  money,  were,  as  we  have  already  observed,  the 
causes  which  prevented  the  easy  traffic  in  grain,  and  produced 
dearth.     The    administrative    efforts    of    the    communes    had, 
nevertheless,  in  a  certain  degree,  made  amends  for  the  stagna- 
tion of  trade  ;  and  there  was  no  lack  of  articles  of  consumption 
in  the  markets,  but  they  were  at  an   exorbitant  price.     The 
value  of  the  assignats  declining  daily  in  proportion  to  their 
total  mass,  it  recprired  a  larger  and  larger  amount  to  purchase 
the  same  quantity  of  necessaries,  and  thus  the  prices  became 
excessive.     The  people,  receiving  only  the  same  nominal  value 
for  their  labour,  could  no  longer  procure  such  things  as  they 
needed,    and   vented   themselves    in    complaints    and   threats. 
Bread  was  not  the  only  article  the  price  of  which  was  enor- 
mously increased ;    that   of  sugar,   cuffee,   candles,    soap,   was 
doubled.     The   laundresses    had    come    to    the   Convention   to 
complain  that  they  were  obliged  to  pay  thirty  sous  for  soap, 
which  had  formerly  cost  them  but  fourteen.     To  no  purpose 
were  the  people  told  to  raise  the  price  of  their  labour,  in  order 
to  re-establish  the   proportion   between  their   wages  and  the 
articles  of  consumption.     They  could  not  be  brought  to   act 
in  concert  for  the   accomplishment  of  this   object,  and  cried 
out  against  the  rich,  against  forestallers,  against  the  trading 
aristocracy  ;    they  demanded  the   simplest  expedient,    a   fixed 
standard,  a  maximum. 

The  Jacobins,  the  members  of  the  commune,  who  were  mere 
populace  in  comparison  with  the  Convention,  but  who,  with 
reference  to  the  populace  itself,  were  assemblies  that  might 
almost  be  called  enlightened,  were  sensible  of  the  inconveniences 
of  a  fixed  price.  Though  more  inclined  than  the  Convention 
to  admit  of  it,  they  nevertheless  opposed  it,  and  Dubois  de 
Crance.  the  two  Robespierres,  Thuriot.  and  other  Mountaineers 
were  daily  heard  declaiming  at  the  Jacobins  against  the  plan 
of  the  maximum.  (Jhaumette  *  and  11  chert  did  the  same  at 
the  commune;  but  the  tribunes  murmured,  and  sometimes 
answered    them    with    hootings.     Deputations  of  the   sections 

*  £>cc  Appendix  LLL. 


240  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

frequently  came  to  reproach  the  commune  with  its  moderation 
and  its  connivance  with  the  forestalled.  It  was  in  these 
assemblies  of  the  sections  that  the  lowest  classes  of  agitators 
met ;  and  there  reigned  a  revolutionary  fanaticism  still  more 
ignorant  and  violent  than  at  the  commune  and  the  Jacobins. 
Conjointly  with  the  Cordeliers,  whither  all  the  acting  men 
resorted,  the  sections  produced  all  the  disturbances  of  the 
capital.  Their  inferiority  and  their  obscurity,  by  exposing 
them  to  more  agitations,  exposed  them  also  to  underhand 
manoeuvres  in  a  contrary  spirit  ;  and  there  the  remnants  of 
the  aristocracy  dared  to  show  themselves,  and  to  make  some 
attempts  at  resistance.  The  former  creatures  of  the  nobility, 
the  late  servants  of  the  emigrants,  all  the  turbulent  idlers 
who  between  the  two  opposite  causes  had  preferred  the  cause 
of  the  aristocracy,  repaired  to  some  of  the  sections,  where  the 
honest  citizens  persevered  in  favour  of  the  Girondins,  and 
concealed  themselves  behind  this  judicious  and  rational  oppo- 
sition, for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  Mountaineers,  and 
labouring  in  favour  of  foreigners  and  of  the  old  system.  In 
these  conflicts  the  honest  citizens  most  frequently  withdrew. 
The  two  extreme  classes  of  agitators  were  thus  left  in  battle 
array,  and  they  fought  in  this  lower  region  with  terrific  violence. 
Horrid  scenes  were  daily  occurring,  on  occasion  of  petitions 
proposed  to  be  addressed  to  the  commune,  the  Jacobins,  or 
the  Assembly.  From  these  tempests  sprang,  according  to  the 
result  of  the  conflict,  either  addresses  against  September  and 
the  maximum,  or  addresses  against  these  addressers,  the  aristo- 
crats, and  the  forestallers. 

The  commune  reproved-  the  inflammatory  petitions  of  the 
sections,  and  exhorted  them  to  beware  of  secret  agitators  who 
were  striving  to  produce  dissensions  among  them.  It  acted 
the  same  part  in  regard  to  the  sections  as  the  Convention  acted 
in  regard  to  itself.  The  Jacobins,  not  having,  like  the  com- 
mune, specific  functions  to  exercise,  occupied  themselves  in 
discussing  all  sorts  of  subjects,  had  great  philosophical  pre- 
tensions, and  laid  claim  to  a  better  comprehension  of  social 
economy  than  the  sections  and  the  club  of  the  Cordeliers. 
They  affected,  therefore,  in  many  instances,  not  to  share  the 
vulgar  passions  of  those  subaltern  assemblies,  and  condemned 
the  fixed  standard  as  dangerous  to  the  freedom  of  trade.  But 
substituting  another  expedient  for  that  which  they  rejected, 
they  had  proposed  to  cause  assignats  to  be  taken  at  par,  and 
to  punish  with  death  any  one  who  should  refuse  to  take  them 
at  the  value  which  they  purported  to  bear ;  as  if  this  had  not 
been  another  manner  of  attacking  the  freedom  of  trade.     They 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  241 

also  proposed  to  bind  themselves  reciprocally  to  desist  from 
using  sugar  and  coffee,  in  order  to  produce  a  forced  reduction 
in  the  prices  of  those  commodities  ;  and  lastly,  they  suggested 
the  expediency  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  creation  of  assignats, 
and  supplying  their  place  by  loans  from  the  rich  —  forced 
loans,  assessed  according  to  the  number  of  servants,  horses,  &c. 
All  these  propositions  did  not  prevent  the  evil  from  increasing, 
and  rendering  a  crisis  inevitable.  Meanwhile  they  mutually 
reproached  one  another  with  the  public  calamities.  The 
Girondins  were  accused  of  acting  in  concert  with  the  rich  and 
with  the  forestallers,  for  the  purpose  of  famishing  the  people, 
driving  them  to  insurrection,  and  thence  deriving  a  pretext 
for  enacting  new  martial  laws  ;  they  were  accused  also  of  an 
intention  to  bring  in  foreigners  by  means  of  the  disturbances 
— an  absurd  charge,  but  which  proved  a  fatal  one.  The 
Girondins  replied  by  the  like  accusations.  They  reproached 
their  adversaries  with  causing  the  dearth  and  the  commotions 
by  the  alarms  which  they  excited  in  commerce,  and  with  a 
design  to  arrive  by  these  commotions  at  anarchy,  by  anarchy 
at  power,  and  perhaps  at  foreign  domination. 

The  end  of  February  was  at  hand,  and  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing the  necessaries  of  life  had  raised  the  irritation  of  the 
people  to  the  highest  pitch.  The  women,  apparently  more 
deeply  touched  by  this  kind  of  suffering,  were  in  extreme 
agitation.  They  repaired,  on  the  22nd,  to  the  Jacobins,  solicit- 
ing the  use  of  their  hall,  that  they  might  there  deliberate  on 
the  high  price  of  the  articles  of  consumption,  and  prepare  a 
petition  to  the  National  Convention.  It  was  well  known  that 
the  object  of  this  petition  was  to  propose  the  maximum  ;  and 
the  application  was  refused.  The  tribunes  then  treated  the 
Jacobins  as  they  had  sometimes  treated  the  Assembly.  Down 
with  the  forestallers  !  down  tvith  the  rich  !  was  the  general  cry. 
The  president  was  obliged  to  put  on  his  hat  to  appease  the 
tumult ;  and  to  account  for  this  want  of  respect,  it  was  alleged 
that  there  had  been  disguised  aristocrats  in  the  hall.  Robe- 
spierre and  Dubois  de  Craned  inveighed  anew  against  the  plan 
of  a  maximum,  and  recommended  to  the  people  to  keep  Cjuiet, 
that  they  might  not  furnish  their  adversaries  with  a  pretext 
for  calumniating  them,  and  give  them  occasion  for  enacting 
sanguinary  laws. 

Marat,  who  pretended  to  devise  the  simplest  and  most 
expeditious  remedies  for  all  evils,  declared  in  his  paper  of 
the  25th  that  forestalling  would  never  cease,  unless  more 
efficient  measures  than  all  those  which  had  been  hitherto  pro- 
posed were   resorted  to.      Inveighing  against    monopolists,  tin 

vol.  n.  II 


242  JTISTOB  Y  OF  mae.  1 7  9  3 

dealers  in  luxuries,  the  agents  of  chicanery,  the  limbs  of  the  law, 
the  cx-noblcs,  whom  the  unfaithful  representatives  of  the  people 
encouraged  in  crime  by  impunity,  he  added,  "In  every  country 
where  the  rights  of  the  people  are  not  empty  titles  ostenta- 
tiously recorded  in  a  mere  declaration,  the  plunder  of  a  few 
shops,  and  the  hanging  of  the  forestallers  at  their  doors,  would 
soon  put  a  stop  to  these  malversations  which  are  driving  five 
millions  of  men  to  despair,  and  causing  thousands  to  perish 
for  want.  Will  then  the  deputies  of  the  people  never  do  any- 
thing but  chatter  about  their  distresses,  without  proposing  any 
remedy  for  them  ?  "  * 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  that  this  presumptuous 
madman  published  these  words.  Whether  they  really  had  an 
influence  upon  the  people,  or  whether  the  irritation,  excited  to 
the  highest  pitch,  could  no  longer  restrain  itself,  a  multitude 
of  women  assembled  tumultuously  about  the  grocers'  shops. 
At  first  they  complained  of  the  prices  of  articles,  and  loudly 
clamoured  for  their  reduction.  The  commune  was  not  apprized 
of  the  circumstance  :  Santerre,  the  commandant,  was  gone  to 
Versailles  to  organize  a  corps  of  cavalry,  and  no  order  was 
issued  for  calling  out  the  public  force.  Thus  the  rioters  met 
with  no  obstacle,  and  soon  proceeded  from  threats  to  acts  of 
violence  and  pillage.  The  mob  first  collected  in  the  streets 
of  the  Vieille-Monnaie,  of  the  Cinq-Diamans,  and  of  the 
Lombards.  It  began  with  insisting  that  the  prices  of  all 
articles  should  be  reduced  one-half :  soap  to  sixteen  sous, 
lump-sugar  to  twenty-five,  moist  sugar  to  fifteen,  candles  to 
thirteen.  Great  quantities  of  goods  were  forcibly  taken  at 
this  rate,  and  the  price  was  paid  by  the  buyers  to  the  shop- 
keepers. But  presently  the  rabble  refused  to  pay  at  all,  and 
carried  off  the  goods  without  giving  anything  whatever  for 
them.  The  armed  force,  coming  up  at  one  point,  was  repulsed, 
amidst  shouts  from  all  sides  of  Down  with  the  bayonets  !  The 
Convention,  the  commune,  the  Jacobins,  had  all  met.  The 
Assembly  was  listening  to  a  report  on  this  subject ;  the 
minister  of  the  interior  was  demonstrating  to  it  that  com- 
modities were  abundant  in  Paris,  but  that  the  evil  proceeded 
from  the  disproportion  between  the  value  of  the  circulating 
medium  and  that  of  the  commodities  themselves.  The  Assembly, 
with  a  view  to  parry  the  difficulties  of  the  moment,  had  imme- 
diately assigned  funds  to  the  commune,  for  the  purpose  of 
retailing  necessaries  at  a  lower  price.  At  the  same  instant 
the  commune,  participating  in  its  sentiments  and  its  zeal,  had 

*   Journal  de  la  Republique,  Feb.  25,  1793. 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  4  3 

directed  a  report  of  the  circumstances  to  be  made,  and  ordered 
measures  of  police.  At  every  new  fact  that  was  reported  to 
it  the  tribunes  shouted,  So  much  the  tetter  !  At  every  remedy 
that  was  proposed  they  cried,  Down  !  down  !  Chaumette  and 
Hebert  *  were  hooted  for  proposing  to  beat  the  ge'ne'rale,  and  to 
require  the  armed  force.  It  was  nevertheless  resolved  that 
two  strong  patrols,  preceded  by  two  municipal  officers,  should 
be  sent  to  restore  order,  and  that  twenty-seven  more  municipal 
officers  should  go  and  make  proclamations  in  the  sections. 

The  tumult  had  spread.  The  mob  was  plundering  in  different 
streets,  and  it  was  even  proposed  to  go  from  the  grocers  to 
other  shopkeepers.  Meanwhile  men  of  all  parties  seized  the 
occasion  to  reproach  one  another  for  this  riot  and  the  evils 
which  had  caused  it.  "  When  you  had  a  king,"  said  the 
partisans  of  the  abolished  system,  in  the  streets,  "you  were 
not  obliged  to  pay  such  high  prices  for  things,  neither  were 
you  liable  to  be  plundered."  "You  see,"  cried  the  partisans 
of  the  Girondins,  "whither  the  system  of  violence  and  the 
impunity  of  revolutionary  excesses  will  lead  us  !  " 

The  Mountaineers  were  exceedingly  mortified,  and  asserted 
that  there  were  disguised  aristocrats,  Fayettists,  Rolandins,  Bris- 
sotins,  mingled  among  the  rabble,  who  excited  it  to  pillage. 
They  declared  that  they  had  found  in  the  mob  women  of  high 
rank,  men  wearing  powder,  servants  of  high  personages,  who 
were  distributing  assignats  to  induce  the  people  to  enter  the 
shops.  At  length,  after  the  lapse  of  several  hours,  the  armed 
force  was  collected ;  Santerre  returned  from  Versailles ;  the 
requisite  orders  were  issued ;  the  battalion  of  Brest,  then  in 
Paris,  deployed  with  great  zeal  and  confidence,  and  the  rioters 
were  finally  dispersed. 

In  the  evening  a  warm  discussion  took  place  at  the  Jacobins. 
These  disorders  were  deplored,  in  spite  of  the  shouts  of  the 
tribunes  and  the  expressions  of  their  dissatisfaction.  Collot- 
d'Herbois,  Thuriot,  and  Robespierre  were  unanimous  in  recom- 
mending tranquillity,  and  in  throwing  the  blame  of  the  tumult 
on  the  aristocrats  and  the  Girondins.  Robespierre  made  a  long 
speech  on  this  subject,  in  which  he  maintained  that  the  popu- 
lace was  impeccable,  that  it  was  never  in  the  wrong,  and  that 
if  it  were  not  misled,  it  would  never  commit  any  fault.  He 
declared  that  among  those  groups  of  plunderers  there  were 
people  who  lamented  the  death  of  the  King,  and  warmly 
praised  the  right  side  of  the  Assembly,  that  he  had  heard 
this    himself,   and   that  consequently   there   could  not  be  any 

Appendix  M  M  M. 


244  ITISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

doubt  respecting  the  real  instigators  who  had  led  the  people 
astray.  Marat  himself  came  to  recommend  good  order,  to 
condemn  the  pillage,  which  he  had  preached  up  that  very 
morning  in  his  paper,  and  to  impute  it  to  the  Girondins  and 
the  royalists. 

Next  day  the  Assembly  rang  with  the  accustomed  and  ever 
useless  complaints.  Barrere  inveighed  forcibly  against  the 
crimes  of  the  preceding  day.  He  remarked  upon  the  tardiness 
of  the  authorities  to  act  in  quelling  the  disturbance.  The 
plunder  had  in  fact  begun  at  ten  in  the  morning,  and  at  five 
in  the  afternoon  the  armed  force  had  not  yet  assembled. 
Barrere  proposed  that  the  mayor  and  the  commandant-general 
should  be  summoned  to  explain  the  causes  of  this  delay.  A 
deputation  of  the  section  of  Bon-Conseil  seconded  this  motion. 
Salles  then  spoke.  He  proposed  an  act  of  accusation  against 
the  instigator  of  the  pillage,  Marat,  and  read  the  article  in- 
serted in  his  paper  of  the  preceding  day.  Frequent  motions 
had  been  made  for  an  accusation  against  the  instigators  of 
disturbance,  and  particularly  against  Marat :  there  could  not 
be  a  more  favourable  occasion  for  prosecuting  them,  for  never 
had  disturbance  so  speedily  followed  the  provocation.  Marat, 
not  at  all  disconcerted,  declared  in  the  tribune  that  it  was  but 
natural  that  the  people  should  do  itself  justice  upon  the  fore- 
stallers.  since  the  laws  were  inadequate,  and  that  those  who 
proposed  to  accuse  him  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  Petites-Maisons. 
Buzot  moved  the  order  of  the  day  on  the  proposition  to  accuse 
Monsieur  Marat.  "  The  law  is  precise,"  said  he,  "  but  Monsieur 
Marat  quibbles  about  its  expressions ;  the  jury  will  be  embar- 
rassed, and  it  will  not  be  right  to  prepare  a  triumph  for  Mon- 
sieur Marat  before  the  face  of  justice  herself."  A  member 
desired  that  the  Convention  should  declare  to  the  republic 
that  "yesterday  morning  Marat  exhorted  to  plunder,  and  that 
yesterday  afternoon  plunder  was  committed."  Numerous  pro- 
positions succeeded.  At  length  it  was  resolved  to  send  all 
the  authors  of  the  disturbances  without  distinction  before  the 
ordinary  tribunals.  "Well,  then!"  exclaimed  Marat,  "pass 
an  act  of  accusation  against  myself,  that  the  Convention  may 
prove  that  it  has  lost  all  shame."  At  these  words  a  great 
tumult  ensued.  The  Convention  immediately  sent  Marat  and 
all  the  authors  of  the  misdemeanours  committed  on  the  25th 
before  the  tribunals.  Barrere's  motion  was  adopted.  Santerre 
and  Pache  were  summoned  to  the  bar.  Fresh  measures  were 
taken  against  the  supposed  agents  of  foreigners  and  the  emi- 
grants. At  the  moment  this  notion  of  a  foreign  influence  was 
universally  accredited.     On  the  preceding  day  new  domiciliary 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  4  5 

visits  had  been  ordered  throughout  all  France,  for  the  purpose 
of  apprehending  emigrants  and  suspicious  travellers.  This 
same  day  the  obligation  to  obtain  passports  was  renewed  ; 
all  keepers  of  taverns  and  lodging-houses  were  required  to 
give  an  account  of  every  foreigner  lodging  with  them  ;  and 
lastly,  a  new  list  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  sections  was 
ordered. 

Marat  was  at  length  to  be  accused,  and  on  the  following  day 
his  paper  contained  this  passage  : — 

"  Indignant  at  seeing  the  enemies  of  the  public  weal  engaged 
in  everlasting  machinations  against  the  people ;  disgusted  at 
seeing  forestallers  of  all  sorts  uniting  to  drive  the  people  to 
despair  by  distress  and  famine  ;  mortified  at  seeing  that  the 
measures  taken  by  the  Convention  for  preventing  these  con- 
spiracies had  not  accomplished  the  object ;  grieved  at  the  com- 
plaints of  the  unfortunate  creatures  who  daily  come  to  ask  me 
for  bread,  at  the  same  time  accusing  the  Convention  of  suffering 
them  to  perish  by  want — I  take  up  the  pen  for  the  purpose  of 
suggesting  the  best  means  of  at  length  putting  a  stop  to  the 
conspiracies  of  the  public  enemies,  and  to  the  sufferings  of  the 
people.  The  simplest  ideas  are  those  which  first  present  them- 
selves to  a  well-constituted  mind,  which  is  anxious  solely  for 
the  general  happiness  without  any  reference  to  itself.  I  ask 
myself,  then,  why  we  do  not  turn  against  the  public  robbers 
those  means  which  they  employ  to  ruin  the  people  and  to  de- 
stroy liberty.  In  consecjuence,  I  observe  that  in  every  country 
where  the  rights  of  the  people  are  not  empty  titles  osten- 
tatiously recorded  in  a  mere  declaration,  the  plunder  of  a  few 
shops,  and  the  hanging  of  the  forestallers  at  their  own  doors, 
would  soon  put  a  stop  to  their  malversations!  What  do  the 
leaders  of  the  faction  of  statesmen  do  ?  They  eagerly  pounce 
upon  this  expression  ;  they  then  lose  no  time  in  sending  emis- 
saries among  the  mob  of  women  collected  before  the  bakers' 
shops,  to  urge  them  to  take  away  at  a  certain  price  soap, 
candles,  and  sugar  from  the  shops  of  the  retail  grocers,  while 
these  emissaries  themselves  plunder  the  shops  of  the  poor 
patriot  grocers.  These  villains  then  keep  silence  the  whole 
day.  They  concert  measures  at  night  at  a  clandestine  meeting 
hold  at  the  house  of  the  strumpet  of  the  counter-revolutionary 
Valaze.*  and  then  come  the  next  day  to  denounce  me  in  the 
tribune  as  the  instigator  of  the  excesses  of  which  they  are 
themselves  the  primary  authors." 

The  quarrel  became  daily  more  and  more  violent.     The  parties 

*  See  Appendix  NNN. 


246  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

openly  threatened  one  another.  Many  of  the  deputies  never 
went  abroad  without  arms  ;  and  people  began  to  say,  with  the 
same  freedom  as  in  the  months  of  July  and  August  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  that  they  must  save  themselves  by  insurrection,  and 
cut  out  the  mortified  part  of  the  national  representation.  The 
Girondins  met  in  the  evening,  in  considerable  number,  at  the 
residence  of  one  of  them,  Valaze\  and  there  they  were  quite 
undecided  what  course  to  pursue.  Some  believed,  others  dis- 
believed, in  approaching  dangers.  Certain  of  them,  as  Salles 
and  Louvet,  supposed  imaginary  conspiracies,  and  by  directing 
attention  to  chimeras,  diverted  it  from  the  real  danger.  Roving 
from  project  to  project,  placed  in  the  heart  of  Paris,  without 
any  force  at  their  disposal,  and  reckoning  only  upon  the  opinion 
of  the  departments,  immense,  it  is  true,  but  inert,  they  were 
liable  to  be  swept  off  every  day  by  a  coup  de  main.  They  had 
not  succeeded  in  forming  a  departmental  force  :  the  bodies  of 
federalists  which  had  come  spontaneously  to  Paris  since  the 
meeting  of  the  Convention,  were  partly  gained  and  had  partly 
gone  to  the  armies  ;  and  they  had  nothing  to  rely  upon  but 
four  hundred  men  of  Brest,  whose  firm  bearing  had  put  a  stop 
to  the  pillage.  For  want  of  a  departmental  guard,  they  had  in 
vain  endeavoured  to  transfer  the  direction  of  the  public  force 
from  the  commune  to  the  ministry  of  the  interior.  The  Moun- 
tain, furious  at  this  proposition,  had  intimidated  the  majority, 
and  prevented  it  from  voting  such  a  measure.  They  could 
already  reckon  upon  no  more  than  eighty  deputies,  inaccessible 
to  fear,  and  firm  in  their  deliberations. 

In  this  state  of  things  the  Girondins  had  but  one  expedient 
left,  as  impracticable  as  all  the  others — that  of  dissolving  the 
Convention.  Here  again  the  violence  of  the  Mountain  pre- 
vented them  from  obtaining  a  majority.  In  their  indecision, 
arising  not  from  imbecility,  but  want  of  strength,  they  reposed 
upon  the  constitution.  Prom  the  need  to  hope  for  something, 
they  flattered  themselves  that  the  yoke  of  the  law  would  re- 
strain the  passions,  and  put  an  end  to  all  dissensions.  Specula- 
tive minds  were  particularly  fond  of  dwelling  upon  this  idea. 
Condorcet  had  read  his  report,  in  the  name  of  the  committee  of 
constitution,  and  had  excited  a  general  sensation.  Condorcet, 
Petion,  and  Sieyes  had  been  loaded  with  imprecations  at  the 
Jacobins.  Their  republic  had  been  regarded  as  an  aristocracy 
ready  made  for  certain  lofty  and  overbearing  talents.  Accord- 
ingly the  Mountaineers  opposed  its  being  taken  into  considera- 
tion ;  and  many  members  of  the  Convention,  already  sensible 
that  their  occupation  would  be  not  to  constitute  but  to  defend 
the  Revolution,  boldly  declared  that  they  ought  to  defer  the 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  247 

discussion  relative  to  the  constitution  till  the  next  year,  and 
for  the  moment  think  of  nothing  but  governing  and  fighting. 
Thus  the  long  reign  of  that  stormy  Assembly  began  to  announce 
itself.  It  ceased  already  to  believe  in  the  briefness  of  its  legis- 
lative mission,  and  the  Girondins  saw  themselves  forsaken  by 
their  last  hope — that  of  speedily  controlling  the  factions  by 
the  laws. 

Their  adversaries  were,  on  their  part,  not  less  embarrassed 
than  themselves.     They  certainly  had  the  violent  passions  in 
their  favour ;  they  had  the   Jacobins,  the  commune,  and  the 
majority  of   the    sections ;    but   they    possessed    none    of   the 
ministers.      They   dreaded   the   departments,   where    the    two 
opinions  were  struggling  with  extreme  fury,  and  where  their 
own  had  an  evident  disadvantage.     Lastly,  they  dreaded  the 
foreign  powers ;  and  though  the  ordinary  laws  of  revolutions 
ensure  victory  to  the  violent  passions,  yet  these  laws,  being 
unknown,  could  not  cheer  them.     Their  plans  were  as  vague 
as  those  of  their  adversaries.     To  attack  the  national  repre- 
sentation was  a  course  not  less  difficult  than  bold,  and  they 
had  not  yet  accustomed  themselves  to  this  idea.     There  were 
certainly  some  thirty  agitators  who  were  bold  enough  to  pro- 
pose anything  in  the  sections  ;  but  these  plans  were  disapproved 
by  the  Jacobins,  by  the  commune,  by  the  Mountaineers,  who, 
daily  accused  of   conspiring,  and  daily  justifying  themselves, 
felt  that  propositions  of  this  kind  compromized  them  in  the 
eyes  of  their  adversaries   and   of  the   departments.     Danton, 
who  had  taken  but  little  share  in  the  quarrels  of  the  parties, 
was  anxious  only  about  two  things:  to   secure   himself  from 
all  prosecution  on   account  of  his  revolutionary  acts,  and   to 
prevent  the  Revolution  from  retrograding  and  sinking  beneath 
the  blows  of  the  enemy.     Marat  himself,  so  reckless  and  so 
atrocious,   when  the  question  was  concerning  means — Marat 
hesitated  ;  and  liobespierre.  notwithstanding  his  hatred  of  the 
Girondins,  of   Brissot,  Roland.  Guadet,  Vergniaud.  durst  not 
think  of  an  attack  upon  the  national  representation  ;  he  knew 
not  what  expedient  to  adopt ;  he  was  discouraged;  he  doubted 
the  salvation  of  the    Revolution,  and  told  Garat  that  he  was 
tired,  sick  of  it.  and  that  he  verily  believed  people  were  plotting 
tin-  ruin  of  nil  the  defenders  of  the  republic. 

While  the  two  parties  were  struggling  with  violence  at 
Marseilles,  at  Lyons,  and  at  Bordeaux,  the  proposition  to  got 
rid  of  the  appellants,  and  to  eject  them  from  the  Convention, 
proceeded  from  the  Jacobins  of  Marseilles,  in  conflict  with  the 
partisans  of  the  Girondins.  This  proposition,  transferred  to 
the   Jacobins  of    Paris,  wai    discussed  there.     Desfieux  main- 


248  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

tained  that  this  measure  was  supported  by  affiliated  societies 
enough  to  be  converted  into  a  petition,  and  presented  to  the 
National  Convention.  Robespierre,  fearing  that  such  a  demand 
might  lead  to  the  entire  renewal  of  the  Assembly,  and  that  in 
the  contest  of  elections  the  party  of  the  Mountain  might  be 
beaten,  strongly  opposed  it,  and  finally  caused  it  to  be  re- 
jected, for  the  reasons  usually  advanced  against  all  plans  of 
dissolution. 

Our  military  reverses  now  came  to  accelerate  the  progress 
of  events.  We  left  Dumouriez  encamped  on  the  shore  of  the 
Bielbos,  and  preparing  for  a  hazardous  but  practicable  land- 
ing in  Holland.  While  he  was  making  arrangements  for  his 
expedition,  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  combatants  were 
marching  against  France,  between  the  Upper  Rhine  and  Holland. 
Fifty-six  thousand  Prussians,  twenty-five  thousand  Hessians, 
Saxons,  and  Bavarians,  threatened  the  Rhine  from  Basle  to 
Mayence  and  Coblentz.  From  this  point  to  the  Meuse,  thirty 
thousand  men  occupied  Luxembourg.  Sixty  thousand  Austrians 
and  ten  thousand  Prussians  were  marching  towards  our  quarters 
on  the  Meuse,  to  raise  the  sieges  of  Maestricht  and  Venloo. 
Lastly,  forty  thousand  English,  Hanoverians,  and  Hutch,  who 
were  still  behindhand,  were  advancing  from  the  extremity  of 
Holland  upon  our  line  of  operation. 

The  plan  of  the  enemy  was  to  bring  us  back  from  Holland 
upon  the  Scheldt,  to  compel  us  to  recross  the  Meuse,  and  then 
to  wait  upon  that  river  till  the  fortress  of  Mayence  should  be 
retaken.  His  intention  was  to  march  on  thus  by  little  and 
little,  to  advance  equally  upon  all  the  points  at  once,  and  not 
penetrate  rapidly  upon  any,  that  he  might  not  expose  his 
flanks.  This  cautious  and  methodical  plan  would  not  have 
allowed  us  to  push  the  offensive  enterprise  against  Holland 
much  farther  and  more  actively,  had  not  blunders,  or  unlucky 
accidents,  or  too  great  precipitation  in  taking  alarm,  obliged 
us  to  relinquish  it.  The  Prince  of  Coburg*  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  last  campaign  against  the  Turks, 
commanded  the  Austrians,  who  were  advancing  towards  the 
Meuse.  Disorders  prevailed  in  our  quarters,  which  were  dis- 
persed between  Maestricht,  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Liege,  and  Tongres. 
Early  in  March  the  Prince  of  Coburg  crossed  the  Roer,  and 
advanced  by  Duren  and  Aldenhoven  upon  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Our  troops,  suddenly  attacked,  retreated  in  disorder  towards 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  abandoned  even  the  gates  to  the  enemy. 
Miaczinsky  resisted  for  some  time  ;  but  after  a  very  sanguinary 

*  See  Appendix  000. 


MAE.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  249 

combat  in  the  streets  of  the  town,  he  was  obliged  to  give  way, 
and  to  retire  in  disorder  towards  Liege.  At  the  same  time 
Stengel  and  Nenilly,  separated  by  this  movement,  were  driven 
back  upon  Limburg.  Miranda,  who  was  besieging  Maestricht, 
and  who  was  also  liable  to  be  cut  off  from  the  main  body  of 
the  army,  which  had  retired  to  Liege,  even  quitted  the  left 
bank,  and  retreated  upon  Tongres.  The  imperialists  imme- 
diately entered  Maestricht,  and  the  Archduke  Charles,*  boldly 
pushing  on  in  pursuit  beyond  the  Meuse,  proceeded  to  Tongres, 
and  there  obtained  an  advantage.  Valence,  Dampierre,  and 
Miaczinsky,  uniting  at  Liege,  then  conceived  that  they  ought 
to  make  haste  to  rejoin  Miranda,  and  marched  upon  St.  Trond, 
whither  Miranda,  on  his  side,  was  directing  his  course.  The 
retreat  was  so  precipitate  that  great  part  of  the  materiel  was 
lost.  However,  after  great  dangers,  they  effected  their  junction 
at  St.  Trond.  Lamarliere  and  Ohampmorin,  posted  at  Rure- 
monde,  had  time  to  repair  by  Dietz  to  the  same  point.  Stengel 
and  Neuilly,  completely  cut  off  from  the  army,  and  driven  back 
towards  Limburg,  were  picked  up  at  Namur  by  the  division 
of  General  d'Harville.  At  length  our  troops,  having  rallied 
at  Tirlemont,  recovered  some  degree  of  composure  and  confi- 
dence, and  awaited  the  arrival  of  Dumouriez,  who  was  loudly 
called  for. 

No  sooner  was  he  apprized  of  this  first  discomfiture  than  he 
ordered  Miranda  to  rally  all  his  force  at  Maestricht,  and  quietly 
to  continue  the  siege  with  seventy  thousand  men.  He  was 
persuaded  that  the  Austrians  would  not  dare  to  give  battle, 
and  that  the  invasion  of  Holland  would  soon  bring  the  allies 
upon  his  rear.  This  notion  was  correct,  and  founded  upon 
this  true  idea,  that  in  case  of  a  reciprocal  offensive  the  victory 
remains  with  him  who  can  contrive  to  wait  the  longest.  The 
very  timid  plan  of  the  imperialists,  who  would  not  break  out 
upon  any  point,  rendered  this  notion  still  more  reasonable ; 
but  the  negligence  of  the  generals,  who  had  not  concentrated 
themselves  early  enough,  their  confusion  after  the  attack,  the 
impossibility  of  rallying  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  and  above 
all,  the  absence  of  a  man  superior  in  authority  and  influence, 
rendered  the  execution  of  the  order  given  by  Dumouriez  im- 
practicable. Letters  after  letters  were  therefore  despatched  to 
him,  urging  his  return  from  Holland.  The  terror  had  become 
general.  More  than  ten  thousand  deserters  had  already  quitted 
the  army,  and  were  spreading  themselves  towards  the  interior. 
The   commissioners  of  the   Convention   hastened   to    Paris,  and 

*  See  Appendix  1*1*1*. 


2  5  o  HI  ST  OR  Y  OF  mak.  1793 

caused  an  order  to  be  sent  to  Dumouriez  to  leave  to  another 
the  expedition  attempted  upon  Holland,  and  to  return  with  all 
possible  speed  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  grand  army  of 
the  Meuse.  This  order  he  received  on  the  8th,  and  he  set  out 
on  the  9th.  mortified  to  see  all  his  projects  overthrown.  He 
returned,  more  disposed  than  ever  to  censure  the  revolutionary 
system  introduced  into  Belgium,  and  to  quarrel  with  the 
•Jacobins  on  account  of  the  ill  success  of  his  plans  of  campaign. 
He  found  in  reality  abundant  matter  both  for  complaint  and 
censure.  The  agents  of  the  executive  power  in  Belgium  exer- 
cised a  despotic  and  vexatious  authority.  They  had  every- 
where excited  the  populace,  and  frequently  employed  violence 
in  the  assemblies  where  the  union  with  France  was  discussed. 
They  had  seized  the  plate  of  the  churches,  sequestrated  the 
revenues  of  the  clergy,  confiscated  the  estates  of  the  nobility, 
and  kindled  the  strongest  indignation  in  all  classes  of  the 
Belgian  people.  Already  an  insurrection  against  the  French 
had  begun  to  break  forth  towards  Grammont. 

It  needed  not  circumstances  so  serious  to  dispose  Dumou- 
riez to  treat  the  commissioners  of  the  government  with 
severity.  He  began  with  ordering  two  of  them  to  be  arrested, 
and  sending  them  under  an  escort  to  Paris.  He  talked  to  the 
others  in  the  most  peremptory  tone,  compelled  them  to  confine 
themselves  to  their  functions,  forbade  them  to  interfere  in  the 
military  arrangements  of  the  generals,  or  to  give  any  orders 
to  troops  within  their  district.  He  removed  General  Moreton, 
who  had  made  common  cause  with  them.  He  shut  up  the 
clubs,  caused  part  of  the  articles  taken  from  the  churches  to 
be  restored  to  the  Belgians,  and  accompanied  these  measures 
with  a  proclamation,  disavowing,  in  the  name  of  France,  the 
vexations  which  had  been  committed.  He  called  the  per- 
petrators brigands,  and  exercised  a  dictatorship,  which,  while 
it  attached  Belgium  to  him,  and  rendered  the  occupation  of 
the  country  more  secure  to  the  French  army,  raised  to  the 
highest  pitch  the  wrath  of  the  Jacobins.  He  had  actually  a 
very  warm  discussion  with  Camus,  expressed  himself  con- 
temptuously respecting  the  government  of  the  moment  ;  and 
forgetting  the  fate  of  Lafayette,  and  relying  too  implicitly  on 
military  power,  he  conducted  himself  as  general,  certain  that 
he  could,  if  he  pleased,  check  the  progress  of  the  Revolution, 
and  well  disposed  to  do  so  if  he  should  be  pushed  to  extremity. 
The  same  spirit  was  communicated  to  his  staff.  The  officers 
spoke  with  disdain  of  the  populace  which  ruled  Paris,  and  of 
the  imbecile  Conventionalists,  who  suifered  themselves  to  be 
d] tpressed  by  it;   all  who  were  suspected  of  Jacobinism  were 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  5  1 

maltreated  and  removed  ;  and  the  soldiers,  overjoyed  at  seeing 
their  general  again  among  them,  affected  in  the  presence  of 
the  commissioners  of  the  Convention  to  stop  his  horse,  and 
to  kiss  his  boots,  at  the  same  time  calling  him  their  father. 

These  tidings  excited  the  greatest  tumnlt  in  Paris,  and 
provoked  fresh  outcries  against  traitors  and  counter-revolu- 
tionists. Choudieu,  the  deputy,  immediately  took  advantage 
of  them  to  demand,  as  had  frequently  been  done,  that  the 
federalists  still  in  Paris  should  be  sent  off.  Whenever  un- 
favourable intelligence  arrived  from  the  armies,  this  demand 
was  sure  to  be  repeated.  Barbaroux  wished  to  speak  on  this 
subject ;  but  his  presence  excited  a  commotion  hitherto  un- 
exampled. Buzot  attempted  in  vain  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the 
firmness  of  the  men  of  Brest  during  the  riot.  Boyer-Ponfrede 
merely  obtained,  by  a  sort  of  compromise,  the  concession  that 
the  federalists  of  the  maritime  departments  should  go  to  com- 
plete the  army  of  the  coasts  of  the  ocean,  which  was  still  too 
weak.     The  others  were  allowed  to  remain  in  Paris. 

Next  day,  March  the  8th,  the  Convention  ordered  all  the 
officers  to  rejoin  their  corps  forthwith.  Danton  proposed  to 
furnish  the  Parisians  once  more  with  an  occasion  to  save 
France.  "Ask  them  for  thirty  thousand  men,"  said  he,  "send 
1  hem  to  Dumouriez  ;  Belgium  will  be  secured  to  us,  and  Holland 
conquered."  Thirty  thousand  men  were,  in  fact,  not  difficult 
to  be  found  in  Paris  ;  they  would  be  a  powerful  reinforcement 
to  the  army  of  the  North,  and  give  new  importance  to  the 
capital.  Danton  moreover  proposed  to  send  commissioners 
of  the  Convention  to  the  departments  and  to  the  sections,  in 
order  to  accelerate  the  recruiting  by  all  possible  means.  All 
these  motions  were  adopted.  The  sections  had  orders  to  meel 
in  the  evening ;  commissioners  were  appointed  to  repair  to 
tin 'in;  the  theatres  were  closed,  that  the  public  attention 
might  not  be  diverted;  and  the  black  flag  was  hoisted  at  the 
Hotel  df  Ville  as  a  sign  of  distress. 

The  meeting  accordingly  took  place  in  the  evening.  The 
commissioners  were  most  favourably  received  in  the  sections. 
Men's  imaginations  were  excited,  and  the  proposal  to  repair 
immediately  to  the  armies  was  cheerfully  ncceded  to.  Hut 
the  same  thing  happened  on  this  occasion  as  on  the  2nd  and 
3rd  of  September.  The  Parisians  insisted  that  before  their 
departure  the  traitors  should  be  punished.  Ever  since  thai 
period  they  had  an  expression  ready  made.  They  did  not 
like,  they  said,  to  leave  behind  them  conspirators  ready  to 
butcher  their  families  in  their  absence.  It  would  therefore 
be  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  fresh    popular  executions,  to 


2  5  2  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  mar.  1793 

organize  legal  and  terrible  executions,  which  should  reach, 
without  delay  and  without  appeal,  the  counter-revolutionists, 
the  hidden  conspirators,  who  threatened  within  the  Revolu- 
tion, which  was  already  threatened  from  without.  It  would  be 
necessary  to  suspend  the  sword  over  the  heads  of  generals,  of 
ministers,  of  unfaithful  deputies,  who  compromized  the  public 
welfare.  It  was,  moreover,  not  just  that  the  wealthy  egotists, 
who  were  not  fond  of  the  system  of  equality,  who  cared  but 
little  whether  they  belonged  to  the  Convention  or  to  Brunswick, 
and  who  consequently  would  not  come  forward  to  fill  up  the 
ranks  of  the  army — it  was  not  just  that  they  should  remain 
strangers  to  the  public  cause,  and  do  nothing  in  its  behalf. 
It  would  be  but  right,  consequently,  that  all  those  who  pos- 
sessed an  income  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  livres  should 
pay  a  tax  proportionate  to  their  means,  and  sufficient  to  in- 
demnify those  who  should  devote  themselves  for  all  the  expenses 
of  the  campaign.  This  twofold  wish  of  a  new  tribunal  instituted 
against  the  hostile  party,  and  of  a  contribution  of  the  rich  in 
favour  of  the  poor  who  were  going  to  fight,  was  almost  general 
in  the  sections.  Several  of  them  went  to  the  commune  to 
express  it ;  the  Jacobins  adopted  it  on  their  part ;  and  next  day 
the  Convention  was  startled  by  the  expression  of  a  universal 
and  irresistible  opinion. 

On  the  following  day,  March  9th,  all  the  Mountaineer 
deputies  attended  the  sitting.  The  Jacobins  filled  the  tribunes. 
They  had  turned  all  the  women  out  of  them,  "  because,"  as 
they  said,  "  they  should  have  an  expedition  to  perform." 
Several  of  them  carried  pistols.  Gamon,  the  deputy,  would 
have  complained  of  this,  but  could  not  obtain  a  hearing.  The 
Mountain  and  the  tribunes,  firmly  resolved,  intimidated  the 
majority,  and  appeared  determined  not  to  admit  of  any  oppo- 
sition. The  mayor  entered  with  the  council  of  the  commune, 
confirmed  the  report  of  the  commissioners  of  the  Convention 
respecting  the  self-devotion  of  the  sections,  but  repeated  their 
wish  for  an  extraordinary  tribunal,  and  a  tax  upon  the  rich. 
A  great  number  of  sections  succeeded  the  commune,  and  like- 
wise demanded  the  tribunal  and  the  tax.  Some  added  the 
demand  of  a  law  against  forestallers,  of  a  maximum  in  the 
price  of  commodities,  and  of  the  abrogation  of  the  decree 
which  invested  merchandise  with  the  character  of  metallic 
money,  and  permitted  it  to  circulate  at  a  different  price  from 
the  paper  currency.  After  all  these  petitions  it  was  insisted 
that  the  several  measures  proposed  should  be  put  to  the  vote. 
A  motion  was  made  for  voting  forthwith  the  principle  of  the 
establishment   of  an  extraordinary  tribunal.      Some   deputies 


mar.  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  5  3 

opposed  it.  Lanjuinais  spoke,  and  insisted  that  if  they  were 
absolutely  required  to  sanction  the  iniquity  of  a  tribunal  with- 
out appeal,  they  ought  at  least  to  confine  this  calamity  to  the 
single  department  of  Paris.  Guadet  and  Valaze  made  vain 
efforts  to  support  Lanjuinais.  They  were  brutally  interrupted 
by  the  Mountain.  Some  deputies  even  demanded  that  this 
tribunal  should  bear  the  name  of  revolutionary.  But  the  Con- 
vention, without  permitting  further  discussion,  decreed  the 
establishment  of  an  extraordinary  criminal  tribunal  to  try, 
without  appeal  and  without  reference  to  the  Court  of  Cassation, 
conspirators  and  counter-revolutionists ;  and  directed  its  com- 
mittee of  legislation  to  present  to  it  on  the  following  day  a 
plan  of  organization. 

Immediately  after  this  decree  a  second  was  passed,  which 
imposed  an  extraordinary  war-tax  on  the  rich ;  also  a  third, 
appointing  forty-one  commissions  of  two  deputies  each,  autho- 
rized to  repair  to  the  departments  to  hasten  the  recruiting  by 
all  possible  means,  to  disarm  those  who  should  not  go,  to  cause 
suspicious  persons  to  be  apprehended,  to  take  horses  kept  for 
luxury — in  short,  to  exercise  there  the  most  absolute  dictator- 
ship. To  these  measures  were  added  others.  The  exhibitions 
of  the  colleges  were  in  future  to  be  conferred  only  on  the  sons 
of  those  who  should  join  the  armies.  All  bachelors  holding 
situations  in  the  public  offices  were  to  be  replaced  by  fathers  of 
families  ;  and  arrest  for  debt  was  to  be  abolished.  The  right  to 
make  a  will  had  been  annulled  some  days  before.  All  these 
measures  were  adopted  at  the  instigation  of  Danton,  who 
thoroughly  understood  the  art  of  attaching  interests  to  the 
cause  of  the  Kevolution. 

The  Jacobins,  satisfied  with  this  day,  hastened  to  their  club 
to  applaud  themselves  for  the  zeal  which  they  had  displayed, 
for  the  manner  in  which  they  had  filled  the  tribunes,  and  for 
the  imposing  assemblage  presented  by  the  close  ranks  of  the 
Mountain.  They  recommended  to  each  other  to  persevere, 
and  to  be  all  present  at  the  sitting  of  the  following  day,  at 
which  the  extraordinary  tribunal  was  to  be  organized.  Robe- 
spierre, said  they,  had  given  a  strict  injunction  to  this  effect. 
Still  tiny  were  not  content  with  what  they  had  obtained.  One 
of  them  proposed  to  draw  up  a  petition  demanding  the  renewal 
of  the  committees  and  the  administration,  the  apprehension  of 
all  functionaries  at  the  very  moment  of  their  dismissal  from 
office,  .■ind  that  of  all  the  administrators  of  the  posts,  and 
counter-revolutionary  journalists.  It  was  proposed  to  draw  up 
tin-  petition  on  the  spot;  but  the  president  objected  that  the 
society  could  not  perform  any  collective  act.  and  it  was  therefore 


254  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

agreed  to  seek  some  other  place  for  meeting  in  the  character 
of  mere  petitioners.  They  then  spread  themselves  over  Paris. 
Tumult  reigned  in  that  city.  About  a  hundred  persons,  the 
usual  promoters  of  all  the  disturbances,  headed  by  Lasouski, 
had  repaired  to  the  office  of  Gorsas,  the  journalist,  armed  with 
swords  and  pistols,  and  had  broken  in  pieces  his  presses. 
Gorsas  had  fled ;  but  he  would  not  have  escaped  had  he  not 
defended  himself  with  great  courage  and  presence  of  mind. 
They  had  paid  a  like  visit  to  the  publisher  of  the  Chronique, 
and  also  ravaged  his  printing-office. 

The  next  day  threatened  to  be  still  more  stormy.  It  was 
Sunday.  A  dinner  was  provided  at  the  section  of  Halle-au- 
1316,  as  an  entertainment  to  the  recruits  who  were  going  off 
to  the  army :  the  want  of  occupation  of  the  populace,  together 
with  the  excitement  of  the  festivity,  might  lead  to  the  worst 
projects.  The  hall  of  the  Convention  was  as  full  as  on  the 
preceding  day.  In  the  tribunes  and  at  the  Mountain  the 
ranks  were  equally  close  and  equally  threatening.  The 
discussion  opened  upon  various  matters  of  detail.  A  letter 
from  Dumouriez  was  then  taken  into  consideration.  Robe- 
spierre supported  the  propositions  of  the  general,  and  insisted 
that  Lanoue  and  Stengel,  both  commanding  in  the  advanced 
guard  at  the  time  of  the  late  rout,  should  be  placed  under 
accusation.  The  accusation  was  immediately  decreed.  The 
next  business  brought  forward  was  the  despatch  of  the 
deputies  who  were  to  be  the  commissioners  for  the  recruit- 
ing. Their  votes,  however,  being  required  for  ensuring  the 
establishment  of  the  extraordinary  tribunal,  it  was  resolved 
that  it  should  be  organized  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and 
that  the  commissioners  should  be  sent  off  on  the  morrow. 
Cambaceres  *  immediately  moved  for  the  organization  both 
of  the  extraordinary  tribunal  and  of  the  ministry.  Buzot 
then  rushed  to  the  tribune,  but  was  interrupted  by  violent 
murmurs.  "  These  murmurs,"  he  exclaimed,  "  teach  me 
what  I  already  knew,  that  there  is  courage  in  opposing  the 
despotism  which  is  preparing  for  us."  Renewed  murmurs 
arose.  He  continued :  "I  give  you  up  my  life ;  but  I  am 
determined  to  rescue  my  memory  from  dishonour  by  opposing 
the  despotism  of  the  National  Convention.  People  desire  that 
you  should  combine  in  your  hands  all  the  powers."  "  You 
ought  to  act,  not  prate,"  exclaimed  a  voice.  "You  are 
right,"  replied  Buzot ;  "  the  public  writers  of  the  monarchy 
also  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  act,  and  that  consequently 

*  See  Appendix  QQQ. 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  5  5 

the  despotic  government  of  one  was  better — "  A  fresh  noise 
was  raised.  Confusion  prevailed  in  the  Assembly.  At  length 
it  was  agreed  to  adjourn  the  organization  of  the  ministry, 
and  to  attend  for  the  moment  to  the  extraordinary  tribunal 
alone.  The  report  of  the  committee  was  asked  for.  That 
report  was  not  yet  ready,  and  the  sketch  which  had  been 
agreed  upon  was  demanded  in  its  stead.  It  was  read  by 
Robert  Lindet,  who  at  the  same  time  deplored  its  severity. 
The  provisions  proposed  by  him,  in  a  tone  of  the  deepest 
sorrow,  were  these  :  The  tribunal  shall  consist  of  nine  judges, 
appointed  by  the  Convention,  independent  of  all  forms, 
acquiring  conviction  by  any  means,  divided  into  two  ever- 
permanent  sections,  prosecuting  by  desire  of  the  Convention, 
or  directly,  those  who  by  their  conduct  or  the  manifestation 
of  their  opinions  shall  have  endeavoured  to  mislead  the 
people — those  who  by  the  places  which  they  held  under  the 
old  government  remind  us  of  the  prerogatives  usurped  by 
the  despots. 

On  the  reading  of  this  horrible  project,  applauses  burst 
forth  on  the  left,  and  a  violent  agitation  ensued  on  the  right. 
••  Better  die,"  exclaimed  Vergniaud,  "than  consent  to  the 
establishment  of  this  Venetian  inquisition!"  "The  people," 
replied  Amar.  "must  have  either  this  measure  of  salvation 
or  insurrection."  "  My  attachment  to  the  revolutionary 
power,"  said  Cambon,  "is  sufficiently  known;  but  if  the 
people  have  made  a  wrong  choice  in  the  elections,  we,  too, 
might  make  a  wrong  choice  in  the  appointment  of  these 
nine  judges,  and  then  they  would  be  insupportable  tyrants 
whom  we  should  have  set  up  over  ourselves!"  "This 
tribunal."  exclaimed  Duhera,  "  is  still  too  good  for  villains 
and  counter  -  revolutionists !  "  The  tumult  continued,  and 
time  was  wasted  in  threats,  abuse,  and  all  sorts  of  cries. 
"We  will  have  it  so,"  shouted  some.  "We  will  not  have 
it  so,"  replied  others.  Barrere  demanded  juries,  and  forcibly 
insisted  on  the  necessity  for  them.  Turreau  moved  that 
they  should  be  selected  from  Paris;  Boyer-Fonfrede,  from 
the  whole  extent  of  the  republic,  because  the  new  tribunal 
would  have  to  judge  of  crimes  committed  in  the  depart- 
ments, in  the  armies,  and  everywhere.  The  day  was  far 
advanced,  and  night  already  coming  on.  Gensonne.  the 
president,  gave  a  summary  of  the  different  propositions,  and 
was  preparing  to  put  them  to  the  vote.  The  Assembly, 
worn  out  with  fatigue,  seemed  ready  to  yield  to  so  much 
violence.  The  members  of  the  Plain  began  to  retire,  and 
the   Mountain,  in  order  to  complete  the  work  of  intimidation, 


2  5  6  HISTOR  Y  OF  mar.  1793 

insisted  that  the  votes  should  be  given  vivd  voce.  "  Yes," 
cried  Feraud,*  indignantly,  "yes,  let  us  vote  vivd  voce,  to 
make  known  to  the  world  the  men  who  want  to  murder 
innocence  under  the  shadow  of  the  law !  "  This  vehement 
apostrophe  rallied  the  right  side  and  the  centre,  and  contrary 
to  all  appearance,  the  majority  declared:  (1)  there  shall  be 
juries ;  (2)  those  juries  shall  be  taken  in  equal  number  in  the 
departments ;  (3)  they  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Convention. 

After  the  adoption  of  these  three  propositions,  Gensonne 
thought  it  right  to  grant  an  hour's  respite  to  the  Assembly, 
which  was  overwhelmed  with  fatigue.  The  deputies  rose  to 
retire.  "  I  summon  the  good  citizens  to  keep  their  places  !  " 
cried  Danton.  At  the  sound  of  that  terrible  voice  every  one 
resumed  his  seat.  "What!"  he  exclaimed,  "is  it  at  the 
moment  when  Miranda  may  be  beaten,  and  Dumouriez,  taken 
in  the  rear,  may  be  obliged  to  lay  down  his  arms,  that  you 
think  of  deserting  your  post !  f  It  behoves  us  to  complete  the 
enactment  of  those  extraordinary  laws  destined  to  overawe 
your  internal  enemies.  They  must  be  arbitrary,  because  it  is 
impossible  to  render  them  precise ;  because,  terrible  though 
they  be,  they  will  be  preferable  to  the  popular  executions 
which  now,  as  in  September,  would  be  the  consequence  of  the 
delay  of  justice.  After  this  tribunal,  you  must  organize  an 
energetic  executive  power,  which  shall  be  in  immediate  con- 
tact with  you,  and  be  able  to  set  in  motion  all  your  means  in 
men  and  in  money.  To-day,  then,  the  extraordinary  tribunal, 
to-morrow  the  executive  power,  and  the  next  day  the  depar- 
ture of  your  commissioners  for  the  departments.  People  may 
calumniate  me  if  they  please  ;  but  let  my  memory  perish,  so 
the  republic  be  saved." 

Notwithstanding  this  vehement  exhortation,  an  adjournment 
for  an  hour  was  granted,  and  the  deputies  went  to  take  indis- 
pensably necessary  rest.  It  was  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  The  idleness  of  the  Sunday,  the  dinner  given  to  the 
recruits,  the  question  discussed  in  the  Assembly,  all  tended  to 
increase  the  popular  agitation.  Without  any  plot  concerted 
beforehand,  as  the  Girondins  believed,  the  mere  disposition 
of  people's  minds  urged  them  on  to  a  stirring  scene.  The 
Jacobins  were  assembled.  Bentabolle  had  hastened  thither  to 
make  his  report  of  the  sitting  of  the  Convention,  and  to  com- 
plain of  the  patriots,  who  had  not,  been  so  energetic  on  that 
as  on  the  preceding  day.     The  general  council  of  the  commune 

*  See  Appendix  RRR. 

t  It  was  not  known  at  this  moment  that  Dumouriez  had  cpaitted  Holland  to 
return  to  the  Meuse. 


m  ak.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  5  7 

was  likewise  sitting.  The  sections,  forsaken  by  the  peaceable 
citizens,  were  given  up  to  the  influence  of  furious  men,  who 
were  passing  inflammatory  resolutions.  In  that  of  the  Quatre- 
Nations,  eighteen  frantic  persons  had  decided  that  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Seine  ought  at  this  moment  to  exercise  the 
sovereignty,  and  that  the  electoral  body  of  Paris  ought  imme- 
diately to  assemble,  in  order  to  clear  the  National  Convention 
of  those  unfaithful  deputies  who  were  conspiring  with  the 
enemies  of  the  Revolution.  The  same  resolution  had  been 
adopted  at  the  club  of  the  Cordeliers  ;  and  a  deputation  of 
the  section  and  of  the  club  was  proceeding  at  that  moment 
to  communicate  it  to  the  commune.  According  to  the  usual 
practice  in  all  commotions,  rioters  were  running  to  direct  the 
barriers  to  be  closed. 

At   this   same   instant   the   cries   of  an   infuriated  populace 
resounded   in  the    streets.     The    recruits,    who    had   dined   at 
the    Halle-au-Ble,    filled    with    fury    and    wine,    armed    with 
pistols  and  swords,  advanced  towards  the  hall  of  the  Jacobins, 
singing  atrocious  songs.     They  arrived  there  just  as  Bentabolle 
was    concluding    his    report    of    the    sitting    of  the   day.     On 
reaching   the    door,    they    demanded    permission    to    file    off 
through  the  hall.     They   passed  through  it  amidst   applause. 
"  Citizens,"  said  one  of  them,  addressing  the  Assembly,   "  at 
the   moment  when   the   country  is  in  danger,  the  conquerors 
of  the    10th  of  August  are  rising  to  exterminate  its  enemies 
abroad  and  at  home."     "  Yes,"  replied  Collot-d'Herbois,  the 
president,  "in  spite  of  intriguers,  we  will,  together  with  you, 
save   liberty."     Desfieux   then  spoke.     He  said  that  Miranda 
was    a  creature   of    Petion,    and   that    he    was    betraying   the 
country ;    and   that    Brissot    had    caused  war  to   be   declared 
against    England  in  order  to  ruin  France.      "  There  is  but  one 
way  left  to  save  ourselves,"  continued  he — ''that  is,  to  get  rid 
of  all  these  traitors,  to  put  all  the  appellants  under  arrest  at 
their  own  homes,  and   let  the  people  elect  other  deputies  in 
their  stead."     A  man   in  military  dress,  stepping  forth    from 
the  crowd  which   had  just  filed  oil",  insisted   that  arrest   was 
not   Bufficientj  and  that  the  people  ought  to   take   vengeance. 
"  What  is  inviolability  ?  "  cried  he.     "  I  trample  it  under  foot." 
.   .   .  As  he  uttered  these  words  Dubois  de  Crance  *  arrived, 
and  opposed  these  propositions.     His  resistance  occasioned  a 
frightful  tumult.       It  was   proposed   that   they   should   divide 
into  two   columns,   one   of  which   should   go   and   fetch  their 
Cordelier    brethren,    while    the    other    should    proceed    to  tin' 

Sa  Appendix  SSS. 
vol.  11.  45 


2  5  8  II IS  TOR  Y  OF  mail  1793 

Convention,  file  off  through  the  hall,  and  intimate  to  the 
Assembly  all  that  was  required  of  it.  There  was  some 
hesitation  in  deciding  upon  the  departure ;  but  the  tribunes 
took  possession  of  the  hall,  the  lights  were  extinguished, 
the  agitators  carried  their  point,  and  two  corps  were  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  proceeding  to  the  Convention  and  the 
Cordeliers. 

At  this  moment  the  wife  of  Louvet.  who  had  lodgings  in  the 
Hue  St.  Honore.  near  the  Jacobins,  hearing  the  vociferations 
which  proceeded  from  that  place,  went  thither  to  ascertain 
what  was  going  forward.  Having  witnessed  this  scene,  she 
hastened  to  apprize  Louvet  *  of  it.  He,  with  many  other 
members  of  the  right  side,  had  left  the  sitting  of  the  Conven- 
tion, where  it  was  said  they  were  to  be  assassinated.  Louvet, 
armed  as  people  generally  went  at  that  time,  and  favoured  by 
the  darkness  of  night,  ran  from  house  to  house  to  warn  his 
friends,  and  to  desire  them  to  meet  in  a  retired  place,  where 
they  might  be  safe  from  the  attacks  of  murderers.  He  found 
them  at  the  house  of  Petion,  quietly  deliberating  upon  the 
decrees  to  be  passed.  He  strove  to  communicate  to  them  his 
alarm,  but  could  not  disturb  the  equanimity  of  the  unimpas- 
sioned  Petion,  who,  looking  up  at  the  sky,  and  seeing  the 
rain  falling,  drily  observed,  "There  will  be  nothing  to-night." 
A  rendezvous  was  nevertheless  appointed,  and  one  of  the 
deputies,  named  Kervelegan,  posted  off  at  full  speed  to  the 
barracks  of  the  Brest  battalion  to  desire  that  it  might  be  got 
under  arms.  Meanwhile  the  ministers,  having  no.  force  at 
their  disposal,  knew  not  what  means  to  take  for  defending 
the  Convention  and  themselves,  for  they,  too,  were  threatened. 
The  Assembly,  struck  with  consternation,  anticipated  a  terrible 
denouement ;  and  at  every  noise,  at  every  shout,  it  fancied 
itself  on  the  point  of  being  stormed  by  murderers.  Forty 
members  only  were  left  on  the  right  side,  and  fully  expected 
an  attack  to  be  made  on  their  lives.  They  had  arms,  and  held 
their  pistols  in  readiness.  They  had  agreed  among  themselves 
to  rush  upon  the  Mountain  at  the  first  movement,  and  despatch 
as  many  of  its  members  as  they  could.  The  tribunes  and  the 
Mountain  were  in  the  same  attitude  ;  and  both  sides  looked 
forward  to  an  awful  and  sanguinary  catastrophe. 

But  audacity  had  not  yet  reached  such  a  pitch  as  to  carry 
into  effect  a  10th  of  August  against  the  Convention.  This 
was  but  a  preliminary  scene,  only  a  20th  of  June.  The  com- 
mune durst  not  favour  a  movement  for  which  people's  minds 

*  See  Appendix  TTT. 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  259 

were  not  sufficiently  prepared  ;  nay,  it  was  very  sincerely  in- 
dignant at  it.  The  mayor,  when  the  two  deputations  of  the 
Cordeliers  and  the  Quatre-Nations  presented  themselves,  re- 
fused to  listen  to  them.  Complaisant  to  the  Jacobins,  he  was 
certainly  no  friend  to  the  Girondins,  nay,  he  might  perhaps 
wish  for  their  downfall ;  but  he  had  reason  to  regard  a  commo- 
tion as  dangerous.  He  was,  moreover,  like  Petion  on  the  20th 
of  June  and  the  10th  of  August,  deterred  by  the  illegality, 
and  wanted  violence  to  be  done  to  him  to  make  him  yield. 
He  therefore  repulsed  the  two  deputations.  Hebert  and 
Chaumette,  the  procitreurs  of  the  commune,  supported  him. 
Orders  were  sent  to  keep  the  barriers  open ;  an  address  to  the 
sections  was  drawn  up,  and  another  to  the  Jacobins,  to  bring 
them  back  to  order.  Santerre  made  a  most  energetic  speech 
to  the  commune,  and  inveighed  against  those  who  demanded 
a  new  insurrection.  He  said  that,  the  tyrant  being  over- 
thrown, this  second  insurrection  could  be  directed  only 
against  the  people,  who  at  present  reigned  alone ;  that  if 
there  were  bad  deputies,  they  ought  to  endure  them,  as  they 
had  endured  Maury  and  Cazales ;  that  Paris  was  not  all 
Prance,  and  was  obliged  to  accept  the  deputies  of  the 
departments ;  that  as  for  the  minister  at  war,  if  he  had 
displaced  officers,  he  had  a  right  to  do  so,  since  he  was 
responsible  for  his  agents.  ...  As  for  Paris,  a  few  silly 
and  mistaken  men  fancied  that  they  could  govern,  and  wanted 
to  disorganize  everything  ;  that  finally,  he  should  call  out  the 
force,  and  reduce  the  evil-disposed  to  order. 

Beurnonville,  for  his  part,  his  hotel  being  surrounded,  got 
over  the  wall  of  his  garden,  collected  as  many  people  as  he 
could,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Brest  battalion,  and 
overawed  the  agitators.  The  section  of  the  Quatre-Nations, 
the  Cordeliers,  and  the  Jacobins  returned  to  their  respective 
places.  Thus  the  resistance  of  the  commune,  the  conduct 
of  Santerre,  the  courage  of  Beurnonville  and  the  men  of 
Brest,  perhaps  also  the  heavy  rain  that  was  falling,  prevented 
the  insurrection  from  being  pushed  any  further.  Moreover, 
passion  was  not  yet  sufficiently  strong  against  all  that  was 
most  noble  and  most  generous  in  the  infant  republic.  Petion, 
Condorcet,  and  Vergniaud  were  still  destined  for  some  time 
longer  to  display  in  the  Convention  their  courage,  their  talents, 
and  their  overpowering  eloquence.  The  tumult  subsided. 
The  mayor,  summoned  to  the  bar  of  the  Convention,  assured 
it  that  quiet  was  restored;  and  that  very  night  it  peaceably 
completed  the  decree  winch  organized  the  revolutionary 
tribunal.      This  tribunal  was   to  be  composed   of   a  jury,   five 


260  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

judges,  a  public  accuser,  and  two  assistants,  all  appointed  by 
the  Convention.*  The  jurors  were  to  be  chosen  before  the 
month  of  May,  and  it  was  provided  that  ad  interim  they 
might  be  selected  from  the  department  of  Paris  and  the  four 
contiguous  departments.  The  jurors  were  to  signify  their 
opinions  vivd  voce. 

The  effect  of  the  occurrences  of  the  10th  of  March  was  to 
excite  the  indignation  of  the  members  of  the  right  side,  and 
to  cause  embarrassment  to  those  of  the  left  side  who  were 
compromized  by  premature  demonstrations.  On  all  hands  this 
movement  was  disavowed  as  illegal,  as  an  attack  upon  the 
national  representation.  Even  those  who  did  not  disapprove  of 
the  idea  of  a  new  insurrection,  condemned  this  as  ill  managed, 
and  declared  that  they  ought  to  beware  of  agitators  paid  by 
England  and  the  emigrants  to  provoke  disturbances.  The  two 
sides  of  the  Assembly  seemed  to  concur  in  establishing  this 
opinion.  Both  entertained  the  notion  of  a  secret  influence, 
and  mutually  accused  each  other  of  being  its  accomplices.  A 
strange  scene  tended  to  confirm  still  more  this  general  opinion. 
The  section  Poissonniere,  in  presenting  volunteers,  demanded 
an  act  of  accusation  against  Dumouriez,  the  general  on  whom 
rested  for  the  moment  all  the  hopes  of  the  French  army.  This 
petition,  read  by  the  president  of  the  section,  was  received 
with  a  general  burst  of  indignation.  "  He  is  an  aristocrat," 
cried  one,  "and  paid  by  the  English."  At  the  same  instant 
the  flag  borne  by  the  section  being  examined,  it  was  perceived 
with  astonishment  that  its  riband  was  white,  and  that  it  was 
surmounted  by  fleurs-de-lis.  Shouts  of  indignation  broke  forth 
at  this  sight.  The  fleurs-de-lis  and  the  riband  were  torn  in 
pieces,  and  its  place  supplied  by  a  tricoloured  riband  which  a 
Avoman  threw  from  the  tribunes.  Isnard  immediately  spoke, 
and  demanded  an  act  of  accusation  against  the  president  of 
that  section.  More  than  a  hundred  voices  supported  this 
motion,  and  in  this  number  that  which  attracted  most  attention 
was  Marat's.  "This  petition,"  said  he,  "is  a  plot ;  it  ought  to 
be  read  through  ;  you  will  see  that  it  demands  the  heads  of 

*  "  The  decree  of  the  Convention  was  in  these  terms  :  '  There  shall  be  estab- 
lished at  Paris  an  extraordinary  Criminal  Revolutionary  Tribunal.  It  shall  take 
cognizance  of  every  attempt  against  liberty,  equality,  the  unity,  or  indivisibility 
of  the  republic,  the  internal  or  external  security  of  the  State,  of  all  conspiracies 
tending  to  the  re-establishment  of  royalty,  or  hostile  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people,  whether  the  accused  are  public  functionaries,  civil  or  military,  or  private 
individuals.  The  members  of  the  jury  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Convention  ;  the 
judges,  the  public  accuser,  the  two  substitutes,  shall  be  named  by  it;  the 
tribunal  shall  decide  on  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  jury ;  the  opinion  of 
the  court  shall  be  without  appeal ;  and  the  effects  of  the  condemned  shall  be 
confiscated  to  tlie  republic.'" — History  of  the  Convention. 


\r  a  R.  1793        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  ITT  ION.  2  6 1 

Vergniaud,  Guadet,  Gensonne\  .  .  .  and  others.  You  are  aware," 
added  he,  "what  a  triumph  such  a  massacre  would  be  for  our 
enemies !  It  would  be  the  destruction  of  the  Convention !  " 
.  .  .  Here  universal  applause  interrupted  Marat.  He  resumed, 
denounced  himself  as  one  of  the  principal  agitators,  named 
Fournier,  and  demanded  his  apprehension.  It  was  instantly 
ordered  ;  the  whole  affair  was  referred  to  the  committee  of 
general  safety ;  and  the  Assembly  ordered  a  copy  of  the 
minutes  (prud  s-verbal)  to  be  sent  to  Dumouriez,  to  prove  to 
him,  that,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  it  gave  no  encourage- 
ment to  the  denunciations  of  calumniators. 

Young  Varlet,  a  friend  and  companion  of  Fournier. 
hastened  to  the  Jacobins  to  demand  justice  for  his  appre- 
hension, and  to  propose  to  go  and  set  him  at  liberty. 
"Fournier,"  said  he,  "is  not  the  only  person  threatened. 
I  .asouski,  Desfieux,  and  myself  are  in  the  same  predicament. 
The  revolutionary  tribunal  which  is  just  established  will  turn 
against  the  patriots,  like  that  of  the  10th  of  August,  and 
the  brethren  who  hear  me  are  not  Jacobins  if  they  do  not 
follow  me."  He  was  then  proceeding  to  accuse  Dumouriez, 
but  here  an  extraordinary  agitation  pervaded  the  Assembly  : 
the  president  put  on  his  hat,  and  said  that  people  wanted 
to  ruin  the  Jacobins.  Billaud-  Varennes  himself  ascended 
the  tribune,  complained  of  these  inflammatory  propositions, 
justified  Dumouriez,  to  whom,  he  said,  he  was  no  friend,  but 
who  nevertheless  did  his  duty,  and  who  had  proved  that  he 
was  determined  to  fight  stoutly.  He  complained  of  a  plan 
for  disorganizing  the  National  Convention  by  attacks  upon  it ; 
declared  Varlet,  Fournier,  and  Desfieux  as  highly  suspicious  ; 
and  supported  the  proposal  for  a  purificatory  scrutiny,  to  clear 
the  society  of  all  the  secret  enemies  who  wished  to  compromise 
it.  The  sentiments  of  Billaud- Varennes  were  adopted.  Satis- 
factory intelligence,  such  as  the  rallying  of  the  army  by 
Dumouriez,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  the  republic  by  the 
Porte,  contributed  to  restore  complete  tranquillity.  Thus 
Marat.  Billaud- Varennes,  and  Robespierre,  who  also  spoke  in 
the  same  spirit,  all  declared  themselves  against  the  agitators, 
and  seemed  to  agree  in  believing  that  they  were  in  the  pay  of 
the  enemy.  This  is  an  incontestable  proof  that  there  existed 
no  plot  secretly  formed,  as  the  Girondrns  believed.  Had  such 
a  plot  existed,  assuredly  Billaud-Varennes,  .Marat,  and  Robe- 
spierre would  have  been  more  or  less  implicated  in  it;  they 
would  have  been  obliged  to  keep  silence,  like  the  left  side  of 
the  Legislative  Assembly  after  the  20th  of  June,  and  certainly 
they   could    not  have  demanded   the  apprehension    of  one  of 


262  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

their  accomplices.  But  in  this  instance  the  movement  was 
but  the  effect  of  popular  agitation,*  and  it  could  have  been 
disavowed  if  it  had  been  too  premature  or  too  unskilfully 
combined.  Besides,  Marat,  Robespierre,  and  Billaud-Varennes, 
though  they  desired  the  fall  of  the  Girondins,  sincerely 
dreaded  the  intrigues  of  foreigners,  feared  a  disorganization 
in  presence  of  the  victorious  enemy,  felt  apprehension  of  the 
opinions  of  the  departments,  were  embarrassed  by  the  accu- 
sations to  which  these  movements  exposed  them,  and  probably 
never  thought  as  yet  of  anything  further  than  making  them- 
selves masters  of  all  the  departments  of  the  ministry,  of  all 
the  committees,  and  driving  the  Girondins  from  the  govern- 
ment, without  excluding  them  by  violence  from  the  Legisla- 
ture. One  man  alone,  and  he  the  least  inimical  of  all  to  the 
Girondins,  might  nevertheless  have  been  suspected.  He  had 
unbounded  influence  over  the  Cordeliers,  the  authors  of  the 
commotion.  He  had  no  animosity  against  the  members  of  the 
right  side ;  but  he  disliked  their  system  of  moderation,  which, 
in  his  opinion,  retarded  the  action  of  the  government.  He 
was  bent  on  having,  at  any  price,  an  extraordinary  tribunal 
and  a  supreme  committee  which  should  exercise  an  irresistible 
dictatorship,  because  he  was  solicitous,  above  all  things,  for 
the  success  of  the  Revolution  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  he 
secretly  instigated  the  agitators  of  the  10th  of  March,  with 
a  view  to  intimidate  the  Girondins,  and  to  overcome  their 
resistance.  It  is  certain,  at  least,  that  he  did  not  take  the 
trouble  to  disavow  the  authors  of  the  disturbance,  and  that, 
on  the  contrary,  he  renewed  his  urgent  demands  that  the 
government  should  be  organized  in  a  prompt  and  terrible 
manner. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  was  agreed  that  the  aristocrats  were 
the  secret  instigators  of  these  movements.  This  everybody 
believed,  or  pretended  to  believe.  Vergniaud,  in  a  speech 
of  persuasive  eloquence,!  in  which   he   denounced  the  whole 

*  "  Never  through  the  whole  course  of  the  Revolution  did  the  working-classes 
of  Paris  rise  into  tumult  and  violence,  except  when  driven  to  it  by  misery  and 
hunger — hunger,  the  most  imperative  of  wants,  which  blinds  the  eye  and  deafens 
the  ear  to  all  other  considerations,  and  ripens  the  fruits  sown  by  an  improvident 
government — despair  and  revolt !  " — Duchcsse  d'Abrantes. 

t  "  'We  are  marching,'  exclaimed  Vergniaud,  'from  crimes  to  amnesties,  and 
from  amnesties  to  crimes.  The  great  body  of  citizens  are  so  blinded  by  their 
frequent  occurrence  that  they  confound  these  seditious  disturbances  with  the 
grand  national  movement  in  favour  of  freedom  ;  regard  the  violence  of  brigands 
as  the  efforts  of  energetic  minds  ;  and  consider  robbery  itself  as  indispensable  for 
public  freedom.  Citizens,  there  is  but  too  much  reason  to  dread  that  the  Revolu- 
tion, like  Saturn,  will  successively  devour  all  its  progeny,  and  finally  leave  only 
despotism,  with  all  its  attendant  calamities.'" — Miynct; 


mail  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  263 

conspiracy,  supposed  the  same  thing.  He  was  censured,  it  is 
true,  by  Louvet,  who  would  have  been  pleased  to  see  the 
Jacobins  more  directly  attacked;  but  he  carried  his  motion 
that  the  first  exercise  of  the  powers  of  the  extraordinary 
tribunal  should  consist  in  prosecuting  the  authors  of  the  10th 
of  March.  The  minister  of  justice,  who  was  required  to  make 
a  report  of  the  occurrences,  declared  that  he  had  nowhere 
discovered  the  revolutionary  committee  to  which  they  were 
attributed  ;  that  he  had  perceived  nothing  but  the  agitation 
of  clubs,  and  propositions  made  in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm. 
The  only  more  precise  circumstance  that  he  had  detected 
was  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  Cordeliers  at 
the  Corraza  coffee-house.  These  members  of  the  Cordeliers 
were  Lasouski,  Founder,  Gusman,  Desfieux,  Varlet,  the  usual 
agitators  of  the  sections.  They  met  after  the  sittings  to  con- 
verse on  political  topics.  Nobody  attached  any  importance  to 
this  revelation;  and  as  deep-laid  plots  were  presumed,  the 
meeting  of  so  few  subordinate  persons  at  the  Corraza  coffee- 
house appeared  merely  ridiculous. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Dumouriez,  on  his  return 
from  Holland,  rejoined  his  army  at  Louvain.  We  have  seen 
him  exerting  his  authority  against  the  commissioners  of  the 
executive  power,  and  with  all  his  might  opposing  Jacobinism, 
which  was  striving  to  introduce  itself  into  Belgium.  To  all 
these  steps  he  added  one  still  bolder,  which  could  not  fail  to 
lead  him  to  the  same  point  as  Lafayette.  He  wrote  on  the 
1 2th  of  March  a  letter  to  the  Convention,  in  which,  recurring 
to  the  disorganization  of  the  armies  produced  by  Pache  and 
the  Jacobins,  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  December,  and  the 
vexations  practised  upon  the  Belgians,  he  imputed  all  the  pre- 
sent evils  to  the  disorganizing  spirit  communicated  by  Paris 
to  the  rest  of  Prance,  and  by  France  to  the  countries  liberated 
by  our  armies.  This  letter,  full  of  boldness,  and  still  more  of 
remonstrances  not  within  the  province  of  a  general  to  make. 
reached  the  committee  of  general  safety  at  the  moment  when 
so  many  accusations  were  preferred  against  Dumouriez,  and 
when  continual  efforts  were  being  made  to  maintain  him  in  the 
popular  favour,  and  to  attach  him  to  the  republic.  This  letter 
was  kept  secret,  and  Danton  was  sent  to  prevail  upon  him  to 
withdraw  it. 

Dumouriez  rallied  his  army  in  advance  of  Louvain.  drew 
together  his  scattered  columns,  and  sent,  off  a  corps  upon  his 
right  to  guard  the  Campine,  and  to  conned  his  operations  with 
the  rear  of  the  army  endangered  in  Holland.  Immediately 
afterwards  he  determined  to  resume  the  offensive,  in  order  to 


264  JUS  TOBY  OF  mar.  1793 

revive  the  confidence  of  his  troops.  The  Prince  of  Coburg, 
after  securing  the  course  of  the  Meuse  from  Liege  to  Maestricht. 
and  proceeding  beyond  that  place  to  St.  Trond,  had  ordered 
Tirlemont  to  be  occupied  by  an  advanced  corps.  Dumouriez 
caused  that  town  to  be  retaken ;  and  perceiving  that  the 
enemy  had  not  thought  of  guarding  the  important  position  of 
Goidsenhoven,  which  commands  the  whole  tract  between  the 
two  Gettes,  he  despatched  thither  a  few  battalions,  which  made 
themselves  masters  of  it  without  difficulty.  On  the  following 
day,  March  16th,  the  enemy,  desirous  of  recovering  that  lost 
position,  attacked  it  with  great  vigour.  Dumouriez,  anticipat- 
ing this,  sent  reinforcements  to  support  it.  and  was  particularly 
solicitous  to  raise  the  spirits  of  his  troops  by  this  combat.  The 
imperialists,  being  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  seven  or  eight 
hundred  men,  recrossed  the  Little  Gette,  and  took  up  position 
between  the  villages  of  Neerlanden.  Landen,  Neerwinden,  Over- 
winden,  and  Eacour.  The  French,  emboldened  by  this  advan- 
tage, placed  themselves,  on  their  side,  in  front  of  Tirlemont, 
and  in  several  villages  situated  on  the  left  of  the  Little  Gette, 
which  became  the  boundary  line  of  the  two  armies. 

Dumouriez  now  resolved  to  fight  a  pitched  battle,  and  this 
intention  was  as  judicious  as  it  was  bold.  Methodical  warfare 
was  not  suited  to  his  as  yet  almost  undisciplined  troops.  He 
was  anxious  to  confer  lustre  on  our  arms,  to  give  confidence  to 
the  Convention,  to  attach  the  Belgians  to  himself,  to  bring  the 
enemy  back  beyond  the  Meuse,  to  fix  him  there  for  a  time, 
and  then  to  fly  once  more  to  Holland,  to  penetrate  inta^  one  of 
the  capitals  of  the  coalition  and  carry  revolution  into  it.  _  To 
these  projects  Dumouriez  added,  as  he  asserts,  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  constitution  of  1791,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
demagogues,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Dutch  and  of  his 
army  ;  but  this  addition  is  false  on  this  occasion,  as  at  the 
moment  when  he  was  on  the  Moerdyk.  All  that  was  judicious, 
possible,  and  true  in  his  plan  related  to  the  recovery  of  his 
influence,  the  re-establishing  of  our  arms,  and  the  following  up 
of  his  military  projects  after  gaining  a  victory.  The  reviving 
ardour  of  his  army,  his  military  position,  all  inspired  him  with 
a  well-founded  hope  of  success.  Besides,  it  was  necessary  to 
risk  much  in  his  situation,  and  it  would  be  wrong  to  hesitate. 

Our  army  was  spread  over  a  front  of  two  leagues,  and 
bordered  the  Little  Gette  from  Neer  -  Heylissen  to  Leaw. 
Dumouriez  resolved  to  operate  a  rotatory  movement,  which 
should  bring  back  the  enemy  between  Leaw  and  St.  Trond. 
His  left  was  supported  on  the  Leaw  as  on  a  pivot ;  his  right 
was  to  turn  by  Neer-Heylissen,  Eacour,  and  Landen,  and  to 


m  a  u.  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  2  6  5 

oblige  the  Austrians  to  fall  back  before  it  to  St.  Trend.  For 
this  purpose  it  would  be  necessary  to  cross  the  Little  Gette, 
to  climb  its  steep  banks,  to  take  Leaw,  Orsmael,  Neerwinden, 
Overwinden,  and  Racour.  The  last  three  villages,  facing  our 
right,  which  was  to  pass  through  them  in  its  rotatory  move- 
ment, formed  the  principal  point  of  attack.  Dumouriez, 
dividing  his  right  into  three  columns,  under  the  command 
of  Valence,  directed  them  to  pass  the  Gette  at  the  bridge  of 
Neer-Heylissen.  One  was  to  rush  upon  the  enemy,  the  other 
to  advance  briskly  upon  the  elevated  knoll  of  Middelwinden, 
to  dash  down  from  that  height  upon  the  village  of  Overwinden, 
and  to  take  possession  of  it;  while  the  third  was  to  attack  the 
village  of  Neerwinden,  by  its  right.  The  centre,  under  the 
Due  de  Chartres.  composed  of  two  columns,  was  to  cross  by 
the  bridge  of  Esemael,  to  pass  through  Laer,  and  attack  in 
front  Neerwinden.  already  threatened  on  its  first  flank  by  the 
third  column.  Lastly,  the  left,  under  the  command  of  Miranda, 
was  to  divide  into  two  or  three  columns,  to  occupy  Leaw  and 
( )rsmael,  and  to  maintain  its  ground  there  ;  while  the  centre 
and  the  right,  marching  on  after  the  victory,  should  effect  the 
rotatory  movement  which  was  the  object  of  the  battle. 

These  arrangements  were  determined  upon  in  the  evening 
of  the  17th.  Next  day,  the  1 8th,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  the 
whole  army  broke  up  in  order,  and  with  ardour.  The  Gette 
was  crossed  at  all  the  points.  Miranda  sent  Champmorin  to 
occupy  Leaw,  and  he  himself  took  Orsmael,  and  opened  a 
cannonade  upon  the  enemy,  who  had  retired  to  the  heights 
of  Halle,  and  strongly  entrenched  himself  there.  The  object 
was  attained  on  this  point.  In  the  centre  and  on  the  right 
the  movement  was  effected  at  the  same  hour.  The  two  parts 
of  the  army  passed  through  Elissem,  Esemael  Neer-Heylissen. 
and  in  spite  of  a  galling  fire,  climbed  with  great  courage  the 
steep  heights  bordering  the  Gette.  The  column  of  the  extreme 
right  passed  through  Racour,  entered  the  plain,  and  instead  of 
extending  itself  there,  as  it  had  been  ordered,  committed  the 
blunder  of  turning  back  to  Overwinden  in  quest  of  the  enemy. 
The  second  column  of  the  right,  after  having  been  retarded 
in  its  march,  rushed  with  heroic  impetuosity  upon  the  elevated 
knoll  of  Middelwinden,  and  drove  the  imperialists  from  it;  but 
instead  of  «'st aUishing  itself  there  in  force,  it  merely  passed 
mi  and  took  possession  of  Overwinden.  The  third  column 
(Mile red  Neerwinden,  and  in  consequence  of  a  misunderstanding, 
committed  another  blunder — that,  of  extending  itself  too  soon 
beyond  the  village,  and  thereby  running  the  risk  of  being 
driven  out  of  it  by  a  return  of  the  imperialists.     The   French 


266  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

army  had  nevertheless  nearly  attained  its  object ;  but  the 
Prince  of  Coburg,  having  at  the  outset  been  guilty  of  the  fault 
of  not  attacking  our  troops  at  the  moment  when  they  were 
crossing  the  Gette  and  climbing  its  steep  banks,  repaired  it 
by  giving  a  general  order  to  resume  the  abandoned  positions. 
A  superior  force  was  advancing  upon  our  left  against  Miranda. 
Clairfayt,  taking  advantage  of  the  faults  committed  on  our 
side — inasmuch  as  the  first  column  had  not  persisted  in  attack- 
ing him,  the  second  had  not  established  itself  on  the  knoll 
of  Middelwinden,  and  the  third  and  the  two  composing  the 
centre  had  crowded  themselves  confusedly  into  Neerwinden 
—crossed  the  plain  of  Landen,  retook  Racour,  the  knoll  of 
Middelwinden,  Overwinden,  and  Neerwinden. 

At  this  moment  the  French  were  in  a  perilous  position. 
Dislodged  from  all  the  points  which  they  had  occupied,  driven 
back  to  the  margin  of  the  heights,  attacked  on  their  right, 
cannonaded  on  their  front  by  a  superior  artillery,  threatened 
by  two  corps  of  cavalry,  and  having  a  river  in  their  rear,  they 
might  have  been  destroyed,  and  this  would  certainly  have  hap- 
pened had  the  enemy,  instead  of  directing  the  greater  part  of 
his  force  upon  their  left,  pushed  their  centre  and  their  right 
more  vigorously.  Dumouriez  hastened  up  to  this  threatened 
point,  rallied  his  columns,  caused  the  knoll  of  Middelwinden  to 
be  retaken,  and  then  proceeded  upon  Neerwinden,  which  had 
already  been  twice  taken  by  the  French,  and  twice  retaken 
by  the  imperialists.  Dumouriez  entered  it  for  the  third  time 
after  a  horrible  carnage.  This  unfortunate  village  was  choked 
up  with  men  and  horses,  and  in  the  confusion  of  the  attack 
our  troops  had  crowded  together  there  in  the  utmost  disorder. 
Dumouriez,  aware  of  the  danger,  abandoned  this  spot,  en- 
cumbered with  human  carcasses,  and  re-formed  his  columns 
at  some  distance  from  the  village.  There,  surrounding  him- 
self with  artillery,  he  prepared  to  maintain  his  ground  on  the 
field  of  battle.  At  this  moment  two  columns  of  cavalry 
rushed  upon  him — one  from  Neerwinden,  the  other  from  Over- 
winden. Valence  met  the  first  at  the  head  of  the  French 
cavalry,  charged  it  with  impetuosity,  repulsed  it,  and  covered 
with  glorious  wounds,  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  command 
to  the  Due  de  Chartres.  General  Thouvenot  coolly  received 
the  second,  and  suffered  it  to  advance  into  the  midst  of  our 
infantry,  which  he  directed  to  open  its  ranks  ;  he  then  suddenly 
ordered  a  double  discharge  of  grape  and  musketry,  which  cut  up 
and  nearly  annihilated  the  imperial  cavalry,  who  had  advanced 
close  to  the  muzzles  of  the  guns.  Dumouriez  thus  remained 
master   of   the   field   of  battle,    and   established  himself  there 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  267 

for  the  purpose  of  completing  his  rotatory  movement  on  the 
following  day. 

The  conflict   had  been   sanguinary ;   but   the   most   difficult 
part  of  the  business   seemed  to   be   accomplished.     The  left, 
established  ever  since  the  morning  at  Leaw  and  Orsmael,  was 
not  likely  to  have  anything  more  to  do;  and  the  fire  having 
ceased  at  two   in    the    afternoon,   Dumouriez   conceived   that 
it    had    maintained    its    ground.      He    considered    himself    as 
victorious,  since  he  occupied  the  whole  field  of  battle.     Mean- 
while  night   approached ;    the    right    and   the   centre   kindled 
their  fires,  but  no  officer  had  yet  come  from  Miranda  to  inform 
Dumouriez   of  what  was  passing  on  his  left  flank.     He  then 
began  to  entertain  doubts,  which  soon  grew  into  alarm.     He 
set  out  on  horseback  with  two  officers  and  two  attendants,  and 
found  the  village  of  Laer  abandoned  by  Dampierre,  who  com- 
manded under  the  Due  de  Chartres  one  of  the  columns  of  the 
centre.     Dumouriez  there  learned   that  the  left,  in  utter  con- 
fusion, had  recrossed  the  Gette,  and  fled  to  Tirlemont;    and 
that   Dampierre,   finding  himself  then   uncovered,  had   fallen 
back  to  the  post  which  he  occupied  in  the  morning  before  the 
battle.     He   set   out   at   full   speed,   accompanied  by  his  two 
servants  and  the   two  officers,  narrowly  escaped  being  taken 
by  the  Austrian  hulans,  arrived  about  midnight  at  Tirlemont. 
and  found   Miranda,  who   had   fallen  back   two   leagues   from 
the  field   of  battle,  and  whom   Valence,  conveyed  thither   in 
consequence  of  his  wounds,  was  in  vain  persuading  to  advance 
Miranda,  having  entered  Orsmael   in  the  morning,  had  been 
attacked  at  the  moment  when  the  imperialists  retook  all  their 
positions.    The  greatest  part  of  the  enemy's  force  had  advanced 
upon  his  wing,  which,  partly  composed  of  the  national  volun- 
teers,  had   dispersed   and    lied    to   Tirlemont.      Miranda  had 
been  hurried  along,  and  had  not  had  either  time  or  power  to 
rally  his  men,  though  Miaczinsky  had  come  to  his  aid  with  a 
body  of  fresh  troops  ;  he  had  not  even  thought  to  acquaint  the 
commander-in-cliief  of  the  circumstance.     As  for  Champmorin, 
placed  at  Leaw  with  the  last  column,  he  had  maintained  him- 
self there  till   evening,  and  had  not  thought  of  returning  to 
Bingen,    liis    point    of    departure,    till    towards   the   close    of 
1 1n-  day. 

The  French  army  thus  found  itself  separated,  one  part  in 
rear  of  the  Gette,  the  other  in  front  ;  and  if  the  enemy,  less 
intimidated  l>,\  so  obstinate  an  action,  had  thought  of  following 
up  his  advantages,  he  might  have  cut  our  line,  annihilated  our 
right,  encamped  at  Neerwinden.  and  put  to  flight  the  left, 
whksh  had  already  Fallen  back.     Dumouriez,  undismayed,  coolly 


268  HIS  TOBY  OF  mar.  1793 

resolved  upon  retreat,  and  next  morning  prepared  to  execute 
his  intention.  For  this  purpose  he  took  upon  himself  the 
command  of  Miranda's  wing,  endeavoured  to  inspire  it  with 
some  courage,  and  was  desirous  to  push  it  forward,  in  order  to 
keep  the  enemy  in  check  on  the  left  of  the  line,  while  the 
centre  and  right,  commencing  their  retreat,  should  attempt  to 
recruss  the  Gette.  Luckily,  Dampierre,  who  had  recrossed  the 
Gette  on  the  same  day  with  a  column  of  the  centre,  supported 
the  movement  of  Dumouriez.  and  conducted  himself  with 
equal  skill  and  courage.  Dumouriez,  still  in  the  midst  of  his 
battalions,  supported  them,  and  resolved  to  lead  them  to  the 
heights  of  Wommersem,  which  they  had  occupied  the  evening 
before  the  battle.  The  Austrians  had  since  placed  batteries 
there,  and  kept  up  a  destructive  fire  from  that  point.  Du- 
mouriez put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  disheartened  soldiers, 
and  made  them  sensible  that  it  was  better  to  attempt  the 
attack  than  to  receive  a  continued  fire  ;  that  they  would  be 
quit  for  one  charge,  which  would  be  much  less  galling  to  them 
than  this  dead  immobility  in  presence  of  an  overwhelming 
artillery.  Twice  he  prevailed  upon  them,  and  twice  they 
halted,  as  if  discouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  the  preceding 
day  ;  but  while  they  bore  with  heroic  constancy  the  fire  from 
the  heights  of  Wommersem,  they  had  not  that  much  more  easy 
courage  to  charge  with  the  bayonet.  At  this  moment  a  ball 
struck  the  general's  horse.  He  was  thrown  down  and  covered 
with  mould.  His  terrified  soldiers  were  ready  to  flee  at  this 
sight ;  but  he  rose  with  extreme  agility,  mounted  another  horse, 
and  continued  to  keep  them  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  Due  de  Chartres  was  meanwhile  effecting  the  retreat 
of  the  right  and  half  of  the  centre.  Conducting  his  four 
columns  with  equal  skill  and  intrepidity,  he  coolly  retired 
before  a  formidable  enemy,  and  crossed  the  three  bridges  of 
the  Gette  without  sustaining  any  loss.  Dumouriez  then  drew 
back  his  left  wing,  as  well  as  Dampierre's  column,  and  returned 
to  the  positions  of  the  preceding  day,  in  presence  of  an  enemy 
filled  with  admiration  of  his  masterly  retreat.  On  the  19th 
the  army  found  itself,  as  on  the  17th,  between  Hackendoven 
and  Goidsenhoven,  but  with  a  loss  of  four  thousand  killed,  with 
a  desertion  of  more  than  ten  thousand  fugitives,  who  were 
already  hurrying  towards  the  interior,  and  with  the  discourage- 
ment of  a  lost  battle.* 

Dumouriez,  consumed   by  vexation,  agitated   by  conflicting 

*  "  The  position  of  the  French  commander  was  now  extremely  critical.  His 
volunteers  left  their  colours  on  the  first  serious  reverses  ;  and  whole  companies 
and  battalions,  with  their  arms  and  baggage,  went  off  in  a  body  towards  the 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  269 

sentiments,  sometimes  thought  of  combating  the  Austrians  to 
the  last  extremity,  and  sometimes  of  destroying  the  faction  of 
the  Jacobins,  to  whom  he  attributed  the  disorganization  and 
the  reverses  of  his  army.  In  the  height  of  his  spleen  he  in- 
veighed bitterly  against  the  tyranny  of  Paris,  and  his  expres- 
sions, repeated  by  his  staff,  were  circulated  throughout  the 
whole  army.  Though  under  the  influence  of  a  singular  con- 
fusion of  mind,  he  did  not  lose  the  coolness  necessary  for  a 
retreat ;  and  he  made  the  best  dispositions  for  occupying 
Belgium  for  a  considerable  time  by  means  of  the  fortresses, 
if  lie  should  be  obliged  to  evacuate  it  with  his  armies.  In 
consequence  he  ordered  General  d'Harville  to  throw  a  strong 
garrison  into  the  citadel  of  Namur.  and  to  maintain  himself 
there  with  one  division.  He  sent  General  Ruault  to  Antwerp 
to  collect  the  twenty  thousand  men  belonging  to  the  expedi- 
tion against  Holland,  and  to  guard  the  Scheldt,  while  strong- 
garrisons  should  occupy  kheda  and  Gertruydenburg.  His  aim 
was  thus  to  form  a  semicircle  of  fortresses,  passing  through 
Namur,  Mons,  Tournay,  Courtrai,  Antwerp,  Breda,  and  Gertruy- 
denburg ;  to  place  himself  in  the  centre  of  this  semicircle,  and 
await  the  reinforcements  necessary  for  acting  more  energeti- 
cally. On  the  22nd  he  was  engaged  before  Louvain  in  an  action 
mF  position  with  the  imperialists,  which  was  as  serious  as  that 
of  Goidsenhoven,  and  cost  them  as  many  men. 

In  the  evening  he  had  an  interview  with  Colonel  Mack,* 
an  ollicer  of  the  enemy,  who  exercised  great  influence  over  the 
operations  of  the  Allies,  from  the  reputation  which  he  enjoyed 
in  Germany.  They  agreed  not  to  fight  any  more  decisive 
battles,  to  follow  one  another  slowly  and  in  good  order,  and  to 
spare  the  blood  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  countries  which  were 
the  theatre  of  the  war.  This  kind  of  armistice,  most  favourable 
to  the  French,  who  would  have  dispersed  had  they  been  briskly 
attacked,  was  also  perfectly  suited  to  the  timid  system  of  the 
coalition,  which,  after  having  recovered  the  Mfeuse,  meant  to 
attempt  nothing  decisive  before  the  reduction  of  .Mayence. 
Such  was  the  first  negotiation  of  Dumouriez  with  the  enemy. 
The  politeness  of  Colonel  Mack  and  his  winning  manners  might 
have  disposed  the  deeply  agitated  mind  of  the  general  to  have 
recourse  to  foreign  aid.  He  began  to  perceive  no  prospect  in 
the  career  which  he  was  pursuing.     If,  a  few  months  before. 

I'Yciicli  frontier,  spreading  dismay  over  all  the  roads  leading  to  France.     The 
French  troops  are  the  bust  in  tin-  world  to  advance  and  gain  conquests;  bill 
they  have  not,  till  inured  by  discipline  and  experience,  the  steadiness  requisite 
to  preserve  them." — Alison. 
*  s,i  Appendix  UUU. 


2  7  o  RTS  TOR  Y  OF  ma  r.  i  7  9  3 

he  foresaw  success,  glory,  and  influence  in  commanding  the 
French  armies,  and  if  this  hope  rendered  him  more  indulgent 
towards  revolutionary  violence  ;  now,  beaten,  stripped  of  his 
popularity,  and  attributing  the  disorganization  of  his  army  to 
this  same  violence,  he  viewed  with  horror  the  disorders  which 
he  might  formerly  have  regarded  only  with  indifference.  Bred 
in  Courts,  having  seen  with  his  own  eyes  how  strongly  organized 
a  machine  is  requisite  to  ensure  the  durability  of  a  State,  he 
could  not  conceive  that  insurgent  citizens  were  adequate  to  an 
operation  so  complicated  as  that  of  government.  In  such  a 
situation,  if  a  general,  at  once  an  administrator  and  a  warrior, 
holds  the  power  in  his  hands,  he  can  scarcely  fail  to  conceive 
the  idea  of  employing  it  to  put  an  end  to  the  disorders  which 
haunt  his  thoughts  and  even  threaten  his  person. 

Dumouriez  was  bold  enough  to  conceive  such  an  idea ; 
and  having  no  further  prospect  of  serving  the  Revolution 
by  victories,  he  thought  of  forming  another  for  himself,  by 
bringing  back  this  Revolution  to  the  constitution  of  1791,  and 
reconciling  it  at  this  price  with  all  Europe.  In  this  plan  a 
king  would  have  been  required,  and  men  were  of  so  little  im- 
portance to  Dumouriez  that  he  did  not  care  much  about  the 
choice.  He  was  charged  at  that  time  with  a  design  to  place 
the  house  of  Orleans  on  the  throne.  What  led  to  this  surmise 
was  his  affection  for  the  Due  de  Chartres,  to  whom  he  had 
contrived  to  give  the  most  brilliant  part  in  the  army.  But  this 
proof  was  very  insignificant,  for  the  young  Due  had  deserved 
all  that  he  had  obtained,  and  besides,  there  was  nothing  in  his 
conduct  that  demonstrated  a  concert  with  Dumouriez. 

Another  consideration  generally  prevailed,  namely,  that  at 
the  moment  there  was  no  other  possible  choice,  in  case  of 
the  creation  of  a  new  dynasty.  The  son  of  the  deceased 
King  was  too  young,  and  besides,  regicide  did  not  admit  of 
so  prompt  a  reconciliation  with  the  dynasty.  The  uncles  were 
in  a  state  of  hostility  ;  and  there  remained  but  the  branch 
of  Orleans,  as  much  compromized  in  the  Revolution  as  the 
Jacobins  themselves,  and  alone  capable  of  dispelling  all  the 
fears  of  the  Revolutionists.  If  the  agitated  mind  of  Dumouriez 
was  decided  in  its  choice,  it  could  not  then  have  made  any 
other  ;  and  it  was  these  considerations  which  caused  him  to 
be  accused  of  an  intention  to  seat  the  Orleans  family  on  the 
throne.  He  denied  it  after  his  emigration  ;  but  this  interested 
denial  proves  nothing,  and  he  is  no  more  to  be  believed  on  this 
point  than  in  regard  to  the  anterior  date  which  he  has  pre- 
tended to  give  to  his  plans.  He  meant,  in  fact,  to  assert  that 
he  had  long  been  thinking  of  revolting  against  the  Jacobins  \ 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  7  1 

but  this  assertion  is  false.  It  was  not  till  then,  that  is,  till 
the  career  of  success  was  closed  against  him,  that  he  thought 
of  opening  to  himself  another.  In  this  scheme  were  blended 
personal  resentment,  mortification  on  account  of  his  reverses, 
and  lastly,  a  sincere  but  tardy  indignation  against  the  endless 
disorders  which  he  now  foresaw  without  any  illusion. 

On  the  22nd  he  found  at  Louvain,  Danton  and  Lacroix,  who 
came  to  call  him  to  account  for  the  letter  written  on  the  1 2th 
of  March  to  the  Convention,  and  kept  secret  by  the  committee 
of  general  safety.  Danton,  with  whom  he  sympathized,  hoped 
to  bring  him  back  to  calmer  sentiments,  and  to  attach  him 
again  to  the  common  cause.  But  Dumouriez  treated  the  two 
commissioners  and  Danton  himself  with  great  petulance,  and 
even  betrayed  the  most  untoward  disposition.  He  broke  out 
into  fresh  complaints  against  the  Convention  and  the  Jacobins, 
and  would  not  retract  his  letter.  He  merely  consented  to  add 
a  few  words,  saying  that  at  a  future  time  he  would  explain 
himself.  Danton  and  Lacroix  returned  without  obtaining 
from  him  any  concession,  and  left  him  in  the  most  violent 
agitation. 

On  the  23rd,  after  a  firm  resistance  during  the  whole  day, 
several  corps  abandoned  their  posts,  and  he  was  obliged  to  quit 
Louvain  in  disorder.  Fortunately  the  enemy  was  not  aware 
of  this  movement,  and  did  not  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity 
to  throw  our  army  into  complete  confusion  by  pursuing  it. 
Dumouriez  then  separated  the  troops  of  the  line  from  the 
volunteers,  united  the  former  with  the  artillery,  and  composed 
with  them  a  corps  d'dite  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  with  which 
he  took  his  place  in  the  rearguard.  There,  showing  himself 
among  his  soldiers,  skirmishing  all  day  along  with  them,  he 
succeeded  in  giving  a  firmer  attitude  to  his  retreat.  He  caused 
Brussels  to  be  evacuated  in  good  order,  passed  through  that 
city  on  the  25th,  and  on  the  27th  encamped  at  Ath.  There 
he  had  fresh  conferences  with  Mack,  was  treated  by  him  with 
great  delicacy  and  respect,  and  this  interview,  which  had  no 
other  object  than  to  regulate  the  details  of  the  armistice, 
soon  changed  into  a  more  important  negotiation.  Dumouriez 
communicated  all  his  resentments  to  the  foreign  colonel,  and  dis- 
eased to  him  his  plans  for  overthrowing  the  National  Conven- 
tion. Bere,  hurried  away  by  resentment,  excited  by  the  idea  of  a 
general  disorganization,  the  saviour  of  France  in  the  Argonne 
tarnished  lii>  glory  by  treating  with  an  enemy,  whose  ambition 
(Might  In  have  rendered  all  his  intentions  suspicious,  and  whose 
power  was  then  tin-  most  dangerous  for  us.  In  these  difficult 
situations  the  man  of  genius  has.  ;i>  we  have  already  observed, 


272  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

but  one  alternative — either  to  retire  and  to  abdicate  all  in- 
fluence, that  he  may  not  be  the  accomplice  of  a  system  of 
which  he  disapproves  ;  or  to  keep  aloof  from  the  evil  which  he 
cannot  prevent,  and  do  one  thing,  and  one  only,  ever  moral, 
ever  glorious — labour  for  the  defence  of  his  country. 

Dumouriez  agreed  with  Colonel  Mack  that  there  should  be 
a  suspension  of  hostilities  between  the  two  armies  ;  that  the 
imperialists  should  advance  upon  Paris,  while  he  should  him- 
self march  thither ;  that  the  evacuation  of  Belgium  should  be 
the  price  of  this  compliance  ;  that  the  fortress  of  Oonde  should 
be  temporarily  given  up  as  a  guarantee  ;  that  in  case  Dumouriez 
should  have  occasion  for  the  Austrians,  they  should  be  placed 
at  his  disposal ;  that  the  fortresses  should  receive  garrisons, 
composed  one  half  of  imperialists,  the  other  of  French,  but 
under  the  command  of  French  officers ;  and  that  at  the  peace 
all  the  fortresses  should  be  restored.  Such  were  the  guilty 
engagements  contracted  by  Dumouriez  with  the  Prince  of 
Ooburg,  through  the  medium  of  Colonel  Mack. 

Nothing  was  yet  known  in  Paris  but  the  defeat  of  Neer- 
winden.  and  the  successive  evacuation  of  Belgium.  The  loss 
of  a  great  battle,  and  a  precipitate  retreat,  concurring  with  the 
news  which  had  been  received  from  the  West,  caused  there 
the  greatest  agitation.  A  plot  had  been  discovered  at  Rennes, 
and  it  appeared  to  have  been  hatched  by  the  English,  the 
Breton  gentry,  and  the  noujuring  priests.  Commotions  had 
already  broken  out  in  the  West  on  account  of  the  dearth  of 
provisions,  and  the  threat  of  cutting  off  the  salaries  of  the 
ministers  of  religion  ;  but  now  it  was  for  the  avowed  motive 
of  absolute  monarchy.  Bands  of  peasants,  demanding  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  Bourbons,  had  made 
their  appearance  in  the  environs  of  Rennes  and  Nantes. 
Orleans  was  in  full  insurrection,  and  Bourdon,  the  representa- 
tive, had  been  nearly  murdered  in  that  city.  The  insurgents 
already  amounted  to  several  thousand  men.  It  would  require 
nothing  less  than  armies  and  generals  to  reduce  them.  The 
great  towns  despatched  their  national  guards.  General  Labour- 
donnaye  advanced  with  his  corps,  and  everything  foreboded  a 
civil  war  of  the  most  sanguinary  kind.  Thus,  on  the  one  hand, 
our  armies  were  retreating  before  the  coalition  ;  on  the  other, 
La  Vendee  was  rising,*  and  never  ought  the  ordinary  agitation 
produced  by  danger  to  have  been  greater. 

*  "  After  the  10th  of  August  a  persecution  of  the  priests  in  La  Vendee  began  ; 
and  the  peasants,  like  the  Cameronians  in  Scotland,  gathered  together,  arms  in 
hand,  to  hear  mass  in  the  field,  and  die  in  defending  their  spiritual  fathers.  More 
than  forty  parishes  assembled  tumultuously.     The  national  guards  of  the  Plain 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  273 

It  was  about  this  period,  and  in  consequence  of  the  10th  of 
March,  that  a  conference  between  the  leaders  of  the  two  opinions 
in  the  committee  of  general  safety  was  brought  about  for  the 
purpose  of  mutual  explanations  respecting  the  motives  of  their 
dissensions.  It  was  Danton  who  instigated  this  interview. 
Quarrels  did  not  gratify  animosities  which  he  harboured  not, 
but  exposed  him  to  a  discussion  of  conduct  which  he  dreaded, 
and  checked  the  progress  of  the  Revolution,  which  was  so  dear 
to  him.  He  wished,  therefore,  to  put  an  end  to  them.  He 
had  shown  great  sincerity  in  the  different  conversations,  and 
if  he  took  the  initiative,  if  he  accused  the  Girondins,  it  was  in 
order  to  obviate  the  reproaches  which  might  have  been  directed 
against  himself.  The  Girondins,  such  as  Buzot,  Guadet,  Verg- 
niaud,  and  Gensonne,  with  their  accustomed  delicacy,  justified 
themselves  as  if  the  accusation  had  been  serious,  and  preached 
to  one  already  converted  in  arguing  with  Danton.  The  case 
was  quite  different  with  Robespierre.  By  endeavouring  to 
convince,  they  only  irritated  him  ;  and  they  strove  to  de- 
monstrate his  errors,  as  if  that  demonstration  ought  to  have 
appeased  him.  As  for  Marat,  who  had  deemed  himself  neces- 
sary at  these  conferences,  no  one  had  deigned  to  enter  into 
any  explanation  with  him  ;  nay,  his  very  friends  never  spoke 
to  him,  that  they  might  not  have  to  justify  themselves  for  this 
alliance.  Such  conferences  tended  to  embitter  rather  than 
soothe  the  opposite  leaders.  Had  they  succeeded  in  convincing 
each  other  of  their  reciprocal  faults,  such  a  demonstration  would 
assuredly  not  have  reconciled  them.  Matters  had  arrived  at  this 
point  when  the  events  in  Belgium  became  known  in  Paris. 

Both  parties  instantly  began  to  accuse  each  other.  They  re- 
proached one  another  with  contributing  to  the  public  disasters, 
the  one  by  disorganizing  the  government,  the  other  party  by 
striving  to  retard  its  action.  Explanations  relative  to  the 
conduct  of  Dumouriez  were  demanded.  The  letter  of  the  12th 
of  March,  which  had  been  kept  secret,  was  read  ;  it  produced 
outcries  that  Dumouriez  was  betraying  the  country,  that  he 
was  evidently  pursuing  the  same  line  of  conduct  as  Lafayette 
had  done,  and  that,  after  his  example,  he  was  beginning  his 
treason  by  insolent  letters  to  the  Assembly.     A  second  letter, 

routed  this  ill-armed  crowd,  and  slew  about  one  hundred  in  the  field.  Life  and 
free  pardon  were  offered  to  others  if  they  would  only  cry  '  Vive  la  Nation!'  hut 
there  were  few  who  would  accept  of  life  on  these  terms.  As  yet,  however,  the 
tumults  were  merely  partial ;  hut  when  the  Convention  called  for  a  conscription 
of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  a  measure  which  would  have  forced  the  people 
to  fight  for  a  cause  which  they  abhorred,  one  feeling  of  indignation  rose  through 
the  whole  country,  and  tho  insurrection  through  all  La  Vendee  broke  forth 
simultaneously,  and  without  concert  or  plan." — Quarterly  Review. 
vol,.  11.  16 


274  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

written  on  the  27th  of  March,  and  even  bolder  than  that  of 
the  12th,  excited  still  stronger  suspicions.  Danton  was  urged 
on  all  sides  to  state  what  he  knew  of  Dumouriez.  Every  one 
was  aware  that  these  two  men  had  a  partiality  for  each  other, 
that  Danton  had  insisted  011  keeping  secret  the  letter  of  the 
1 2th  of  March,  and  that  he  had  gone  to  persuade  Dumouriez 
to  retract  it.  Some  even  asserted  that  they  had  committed 
peculations  together  in  opulent  Belgium.  At  the  Jacobins,  in 
the  committee  of  general  defence,  in  the  Assembly,  Danton 
was  called  upon  to  explain  himself.  Perplexed  by  the  sus- 
picions of  the  Girondins,  and  by  the  doubts  of  the  Mountaineers 
themselves,  Danton  felt,  for  the  first  time,  some  difficulty  in 
replying.  He  said  that  the  great  talents  of  Dumouriez  had 
appeared  to  deserve  some  indulgence  ;  that  it  had  been  deemed 
proper  to  see  him  before  denouncing  him,  in  order  to  convince 
him  of  his  errors,  and  to  bring  him  back,  if  possible,  to  better 
sentiments  ;  that  thus  far  the  commissioners  had  regarded  his 
conduct  as  the  effect  of  evil  suggestions,  and  of  vexation  on 
account  of  his  late  reverses  ;  but  that  they  had  believed,  and 
they  did  still  believe,  that  his  talents  might  be  retained  for  the 
republic. 

Robespierre  said  that,  if  this  were  the  case,  he  ought  not 
to  be  treated  with  any  indulgence,  and  that  it  was  useless 
to  show  him  such  forbearance.  He  renewed,  moreover,  the 
motion  which  Louvet  had  made  against  the  Bourbons  who 
had  remained  in  France,  that  is  to  say,  against  the  members 
of  the  Orleans  family  ;  and  it  appeared  strange  that  Robe- 
spierre, who  in  January  had  so  warmly  defended  them 
against  the  Girondins,  should  now  attack  them  with  such 
fury.  But  his  suspicious  mind  had  instantly  surmised  sinister 
plots.  He  had  said  to  himself :  A  man  who  was  once  a 
prince  of  the  blood  cannot  submit  with  resignation  to  his 
new  condition,  and  though  he  calls  himself  Egalit6,  his 
sacrifice  cannot  be  sincere.  He  is  conspiring,  then,  and,  in 
fact,  all  our  generals  belong  to  him.  Biron,  who  commands 
at  the  Alps,  is  his  intimate  friend ;  Valence,  general  of  the 
army  of  the  Ardennes,  is  the  son-in-law  of  his  confidant, 
Sillery ;  his  two  sons  hold  the  first  rank  in  the  army  of 
Belgium ;  lastly,  Dumouriez  is  openly  devoted  to  them, 
and  is  training  them  with  particular  care.  The  Girondins 
attacked  in  January  the  family  of  Orleans ;  but  it  was  a 
feint  on  their  part,  which  had  no  other  aim  than  to  obviate 
all  suspicion  of  connivance.  Brissot,  a  friend  of  Sillery,  is 
the  go-between  of  the  conspiracy.  There  is  the  whole  plot 
laid    open :    the    throne    will    be    again    raised,    and    France 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  2  7  5 

undone,  if  we  do  not  make  haste  to  proscribe  the  con- 
spirators. Such  were  the  conjectures  of  Bobespierre ;  and 
what  is  most  frightful  in  this  manner  of  reasoning  is,  that 
Robespierre,  influenced  by  hatred,  believed  these  calumnies.* 
The  astonished  Mountain  repelled  his  suggestions.  "  Give 
us  proofs,  then,"  said  those  who  were  seated  by  his  side. 
"  Proofs ! "  he  replied,  "  proofs !  I  have  none ;  but  I  have 
the  moral  conviction  !  " 

It  was  immediately  proposed,  as  is  always  the  case  in 
moments  of  danger,  to  accelerate  the  action  of  the  executive 
power  and  that  of  the  tribunals,  in  order  to  guard  at  once 
against  what  was  called  the  external  and  internal  enemy. 

The  commissioners  appointed  for  the  recruiting  were 
therefore  instantly  despatched,  and  the  question  whether 
the  Convention  ought  not  to  take  a  greater  share  in  the 
execution  of  the  laws  was  investigated.  The  manner  in 
which  the  executive  power  was  organized  appeared  insuf- 
ficient. Ministers,  placed  out  of  the  pale  of  the  Assembly, 
acting  upon  their  own  motion,  and  under  its  very  remote 
superintendence ;  a  committee  charged  to  make  reports  on 
all  measures  of  general  security;  all  these  authorities  con- 
trolling one  another,  and  eternally  deliberating  without  act- 
ing, appeared  quite  inadequate  to  the  immense  task  which 
they  had  to  perform.  Moreover,  this  ministry,  these  com- 
mittees, were  composed  of  members  suspected,  because  they 
were  moderate ;  and  at  this  time,  when  promptness  and 
energy  were  indispensable  conditions  of  success,  any  dilato- 
riness,  any  moderation,  induced  suspicions  of  conspiracy. 
It  was  therefore  proposed  to  institute  a  committee  which 
should  unite  in  itself  the  functions  of  the  diplomatic  com- 
mittee, of  the  military  committee,  and  of  the  committee  of 
general  safety,  which  should  be  authorized,  in  case  of  need, 
to  order  and  to  act  upon  its  own  motion,  and  to  check  or  to 
make  amends  for  the  ministerial  action. 

Various  plans  of  organization  were  presented  for  accom- 
plishing this  object,  and  referred  to  a  committee  appointed 
to  discuss  them.  Immediately  afterwards  the  Assembly 
directed  its  attention  to  the  means  of  reaching  the  internal 
enemy,  that  is,  the  aristocrats,  the  traitors,  by  whom  it  was 
said  to  be  surrounded.  "France" — snch  was  the  cry — "is 
full  of  refractory  priests,  of  nobles,  of  their  former  creatures, 
of  their  old  servants;  and  these  retainers,  still  numerous, 
surround   us,    betray   us,   and  threaten    us   as   dangerously   as 

*  See  Appendix  VVV. 


276  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

the  hostile  bayonets.  It  behoves  us  to  discover  them,  to  mark 
them,  and  to  throw  upon  them  a  light  which  shall  prevent 
them  from  acting."  The  Jacobins  had  therefore  proposed, 
and  the  Convention  had  decreed,  that  according  to  a  custom 
borrowed  from  China,  the  names  of  all  persons  dwelling  in  a 
house  should  be  inscribed  on  the  door.  It  was  next  enacted 
that  all  suspected  citizens  should  be  disarmed,  and  all  non- 
juring  priests,  the  nobles,  the  late  seigneurs,  the  dismissed 
functionaries,  &c,  were  designated  as  such.  This  disarming 
was  to  be  effected  by  means  of  domiciliary  visits ;  and  the 
only  mitigation  attached  to  this  measure  was,  that  the  visits 
should  not  take  place  at  night. 

Having  thus  ensured  the  means  of  discovering  and  reaching 
all  those  who  gave  the  least  umbrage,  the  Assembly  finally 
added  the  means  of  striking  them  in  the  most  speedy  manner 
by  installing  the  revolutionary  tribunal.  It  was  on  the  motion 
of  Danton  that  this  terrible  instrument  of  revolutionary  sus- 
picion was  set  to  work.  That  formidable  man  was  well  aware 
of  the  abuse  to  which  it  was  liable  ;  but  he  had  sacrificed  every- 
thing to  the  object.  He  well  knew  that  to  strike  cjuickly  is  to 
examine  less  attentively ;  that  to  examine  less  attentively  is 
to  run  the  risk  of  mistake,  especially  in  times  of  party  viru- 
lence ;  and  that  to  commit  a  mistake  is  to  commit  an  atrocious 
injustice.  But  in  his  view  the  Revolution  was  society  accele- 
rating its  action  in  all  things — in  matters  of  justice,  of  adminis- 
tration, and  of  war.  In  tranquil  times,  said  he,  society  chooses 
rather  to  let  the  guilty  one  escape  than  to  strike  the  "innocent, 
because  the  guilty  one  is  not  very  dangerous ;  but  in  propor- 
tion as  he  becomes  more  so,  it  tends  more  to  secure  him ;  and 
when  he  becomes  so  dangerous  as  to  have  it  in  his  power  to 
destroy  it,  or  at  least  when  it  believes  so,  it  strikes  all  that 
excite  its  suspicions,  and  then  deems  it  better  to  punish  an 
innocent  man  than  to  let  a  guilty  one  escape.  Such  is  the 
dictatorship,  that  is,  the  violent  action  in  societies  when 
threatened.     It  is  rapid,  arbitrary,  faulty,  but  irresistible. 

Thus  the  concentration  of  powers  in  the  Convention,  the 
installation  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal,  the  commencement 
of  the  inquisition  against  suspected  persons,  and  redoubled 
hatred  against  the  deputies  who  opposed  these  extraordinary 
measures,  were  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Neerwinden,  the 
retreat  from  Belgium,  the  threats  of  Dumouriez,  and  the 
insurrection  in  La  Vendee.* 

The  ill-humour  of  Dumouriez  had  increased  with  his  reverses. 

*  See  Appendix  WWW. 


mae.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  277 

He  had  just  learned  that  the  army  of  Holland  was  retreating 
in  disorder,  abandoning-  Antwerp  and  the  Scheldt,  and  leaving 
the  two  French  garrisons  in  Breda  and  Gertruydenburg ;  that 
d'Harville  had  not  been  able  to  keep  the  citadel  of  Namnr, 
and  was  falling  back  upon  Givet  and  Maubeuge ;  lastly,  that 
Neuilly,  so  far  from  being  able  to  maintain  himself  at  Mons, 
had  been  obliged  to  retire  upon  Conde  and  Valenciennes,  be- 
cause his  division,  instead  of  taking  position  on  the  heights 
of  Nimy,  had  plundered  the  magazines  and  fled.  Thus  by  the 
disorders  of  that  army  he  beheld  the  frustration  of  his  plan  of 
forming  in  Belgium  a  semicircle  of  fortresses  which  should 
pass  from  Namur  into  Flanders  and  Holland,  and  in  the  centre 
of  which  he  meant  to  place  himself  in  order  to  act  with  the 
greater  advantage.  He  would  soon  have  nothing  to  offer  in 
exchange  to  the  imperialists,  and  as  he  grew  weaker  he  would 
sink  into  dependence  upon  them.  His  indignation  increased 
as  he  approached  France,  and  had  a  closer  view  of  the  disorders, 
and  heard  the  cries  raised  against  him.  He  no  longer  used 
any  concealment ;  and  the  language  which  he  used  in  the 
presence  of  his  staff,  and  which  was  repeated  in  the  army, 
indicated  the  projects  that  were  fermenting  in  his  head.  The 
lister  of  the  Dae  de  Chartres,  and  Madame  de  Sillery,  flying 
from  the  proscriptions  which  threatened  them,  had  repaired  to 
Belgium  to  seek  protection  from  the  brothers  of  the  former. 
They  were  at  Ath,  and  this  circumstance  furnished  fresh  food 
for  suspicion. 

Three  Jacobin  emissaries,  one  named  Dubuisson,  a  refugee 
from  Brussels,  Proly,  a  natural  son  of  Kaunitz,  and  Pereyra, 
a  Portuguese  Jew,  arrived  at  Ath,  upon  the  pretext,  whether 
false  or  true,  of  a  mission  from  Lebrun.  They  introduced 
themselves  to  the  general  as  spies  of  the  government,  and 
had  no  difficulty  to  discover  plans  which  Dumouriez  no  longer 
concealed.  They  found  him  surrounded  by  General  Valence 
and  the  sons  of  the  Due  d'Orleans,  were  very  uncourteously 
received,  and  addressed  in  language  anything  but  flattering 
to  the  Jacobins  and  the  Convention.  Next  day,  however, 
fchey  returned  and  had  a  private  interview.  On  this  occasion 
Dumouriez  expressed  himself  without  reserve.  He  began  by 
telling  them  that  he  was  strong  enough  to  fight  in  front  and 
rear  ;  that  the  Convention  was  composed  of  two  hundred 
brigands  and  six  hundred  idiots;  and  that  he  laughed  at  its 
decrees,  whose  validity  would  soon  be  confined  to  the  district 
of  Paris.  "  As  for  the  revolutionary  tribunal,"  he  added,  with 
rising  indignation,  "I  will  find  means  to  put  it  down;  and 
while  I  have  three  inches  of  steel  by  my  side,  that  monster 


278  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

shall  not  exist."  He  then  launched  out  against  the  volunteers, 
whom  he  called  cowards  ;  he  said  that  he  would  have  none  but 
troops  of  the  line,  and  that  with  them  he  would  go  and  put  an 
end  to  the  disorders  in  Paris.  "  Would  you  do  away  then  with 
the  constitution?"  inquired  the  three  interlocutors.  "The 
new  constitution  devised  by  Condorcet  is  too  silly."  "  And 
what  will  you  set  up  in  its  place?"  "The  old  one  of  1791, 
bad  as  it  is."  "  But  then  you  must  have  a  king,  and  the  name 
of  Louis  is  an  abomination."  "  Whether  his  name  is  Louis  or 
Jacques  is  of  no  consequence."  "  Or  Philippe,"  added  one  of 
the  envoys.  "  But  how  will  you  replace  the  present  Assembly  ?  " 
Dumouriez  considered  for  a  moment,  and  then  replied  :  "  There 
are  local  administrations,  all  chosen  by  the  confidence  of  the 
nation ;  and  the  five  hundred  presidents  of  districts  shall  be 
the  five  hundred  representatives."  "  But  before  their  meet- 
ing, who  shall  have  the  initiative  of  this  revolution  ?  "  "  The 
Mamelukes,  that  is,  my  army.  It  will  express  this  wish ;  the 
presidents  of  districts  will  cause  it  to  be  confirmed ;  and  I  will 
make  peace  with  the  coalition,  which,  unless  I  stop  it,  will  be 
in  Paris  in  a  fortnight." 

The  three  envoys,  whether,  as  Dumouriez  conceived,  they 
came  to  sound  him  on  behalf  of  the  Jacobins,  or  wished  to 
induce  him  to  reveal  still  more  of  his  schemes,  then  suggested 
an  idea.  "Why,"  said  they,  "not  put  the  Jacobins,  who  are 
a  deliberative  body  ready  prepared,  in  the  place  of  the  Conven- 
tion ? "  At  these  words  indignation  mingled  with  contempt 
overspread  the  face  of  the  general,  and  they  dropped  their 
proposition.  They  then  spoke  to  him  concerning  the  danger 
to  which  his  plan  would  expose  the  Bourbons  confined  in 
the  Temple,  and  for  whom  he  appeared  to  interest  himself. 
Dumouriez  immediately  replied  that  were  they  to  perish  to 
the  very  last  of  them,  in  Paris  and  at  Coblentz,  France  would 
find  a  chief  and  be  saved ;  that,  moreover,  if  Paris  should 
commit  any  fresh  barbarities  on  the  unfortunate  prisoners  in 
the  Temple,  he  would  presently  be  there,  and  that  with  twelve 
thousand  men  he  would  be  master  of  the  city.  He  would  not 
imitate  the  idiot  Broglie,  who  with  thirty  thousand  men  had 
suffered  the  Bastille  to  be  taken  ;  but  with  two  posts,  at 
Nogent  and  Pont  St.  Maxence,  he  would  starve  the  Parisians. 
"  Your  Jacobins,"  added  he,  "  have  it  in  their  power  to  atone 
for  all  their  crimes.  Let  them  save  the  unfortunate  prisoners, 
and  drive  out  the  seven  hundred  and  forty-five  tyrants  of  the 
Convention,  and  they  shall  be  forgiven." 

His  visitors  then  adverted  to  his  danger.  "  I  shall  always 
have  time  enough,"  said  he,  "to  gallop  oil'  to  the  Austrians." 


mar.  1793        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  279 

"  Would  you  then  share  the  fate  of  Lafayette  ?  "  "  I  shall  go 
over  to  the  enemy  in  a  very  different  way  from  what  he  did ; 
besides,  the  powers  have  a  very  different  opinion  of  my  talents, 
and  cannot  reproach  me  with  the  5th  and  6th  of  October." 

Dumouriez  had  reason  not  to  dread  the  fate  of  Lafayette. 
His  talents  were  rated  too  highly,  and  the  firmness  of  his 
principles  not  highly  enough,  to  cause  him  to  be  confined  at 
Olmlitz.  The  three  envoys  left  him,  saying  that  they  would 
go  and  sound  Paris  and  the  Jacobins  on  the  subject. 

Dumouriez,  though  he  believed  his  visitors  to  be  staunch 
Jacobins,  had  not  on  that  account  expressed  his  sentiments 
the  less  boldly.  At  this  moment,  in  fact,  his  plans  became 
evident.  The  troops  of  the  line  and  the  volunteers  watched 
each  other  with  suspicion,  and  everything  indicated  that  he 
was  on  the  point  of  hoisting  the  standard  of  revolt. 

The  executive  power  had  received  alarming  reports,  and  the 
committee  of  general  welfare  had  proposed  and  obtained  a 
decree  summoning  Dumouriez  to  the  bar.  Four  commissioners, 
accompanied  by  the  minister  at  war,  were  directed  to  proceed 
to  the  army,  to  notify  the  decree,  and  to  bring  the  general 
to  Paris.  These  four  commissioners  were  Bancal,  Quinette. 
( \amus,  and  Lamarque.*  Beurnonville  had  joined  them,  and 
his  part  was  a  difficult  one,  on  account  of  the  friendship  which 
subsisted  between  him  and  Dumouriez. 

These  commissioners  set  out  on  the  30th  of  March.  The 
same  day  Dumouriez  moved  to  the  field  of  Braille,  where  he 
llnvatened  at  once  the  three  important  fortresses  of  Lille, 
(Jondu,  and  Valenciennes.  He  was  quite  undecided  what 
course  to  pursue,  for  his  army  was  divided  in  opinion.  The 
artillery,  the  troops  of  the  line,  and  the  cavalry,  all  the 
organized  corps,  appeared  to  be  devoted  to  him ;  but  the 
national  volunteers  began  to  murmur,  and  to  separate  them- 
selves from  the  others.  In  this  situation  he  had  but  one  ex- 
pedient— to  disarm  the  volunteers.  But  this  exposed  him  to 
the  risk  of  a  battle,  and  the  issue  would  be  precarious,  for  the 
troops  of  the  line  might  feel  repugnance  to  slaughter  their 
comrades.  Besides,  among  these  volunteers  there  were  some 
who  had  fought  well,  and  who  appeared  to  be  attached  to  him. 
Eesitating  as  to  this  measure  of  severity,  he  considered  how  to 
make  himself  master  of  the  three  fortresses  amidst  which  he 
was  posted.  l»y  means  of  them  he  should  have  supplies,  and 
a  point  of  support  against  Paris,  and  against  the  enemy,  of 
whom  he  still  had  a  distrust.     But  in  these  three  places  the 

*  Sec  Appendix  XXX. 


28o  HISTORY  OF  mar.  1793 

public  opinion  was  divided.  The  popular  societies,  aided  by 
the  volunteers,  had  there  risen  against  him,  and  threatened  the 
troops  of  the  line.  At  Valenciennes  and  Lille  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  Convention  excited  the  zeal  of  the  republicans ; 
and  in  Conde  alone  the  influence  of  Neuilly's  division  gave  his 
partisans  the  advantage.  Among  the  generals  of  division  Dam- 
pierre  behaved  towards  him  as  he  had  himself  behaved  towards 
Lafayette  after  the  10th  of  August ;  and  several  others,  without 
as  yet  declaring  themselves,  were  ready  to  abandon  him. 

On  the  31st,  six  volunteers,  having  the  words  Republic  or 
Death  written  with  chalk  upon  their  hats,  met  him  in  his 
camp,  and  seemed  to  entertain  a  design  to  secure  his  person. 
Assisted  by  his  faithful  Baptiste,  he  kept  them  at  bay,  and 
gave  them  into  the  custody  of  his  hussars.  This  occurrence 
produced  a  great  sensation  in  the  army ;  the  different  corps 
presented  to  him  in  the  course  of  the  day  addresses  which 
renewed  his  confidence.  He  instantly  raised  the  standard, 
and  detached  Miaczinsky  with  a  few  thousand  men  to  march 
upon  Lille.  Miaczinsky  advanced  upon  that  place,  and  com- 
municated the  secret  of  his  enterprise  to  St.  George,  a  mulatto, 
who  commanded  a  regiment  of  the  garrison.  The  latter 
advised  Miaczinsky  to  enter  the  town  with  a  small  escort. 
The  unfortunate  general  suffered  himself  to  be  persuaded, 
and  no  sooner  had  he  entered  Lille  than  he  was  surrounded 
and  delivered  up  to  the  authorities.  The  gates  were  closed, 
and  the  division  wandered  about  without  commander  on  the 
glacis  of  Lille.  Dumouriez  immediately  sent  an  aide-de- 
camp to  rally  it ;  but  the  aide-de-camp  was  taken  also,  and 
the  division,  being  dispersed,  was  lost  to  him.  After  this 
unfortunate  attempt,  he  made  a  similar  one  upon  Valen- 
ciennes, where  General  Ferrand  *  commanded.  That  general 
he  thought  very  favourably  disposed  towards  him.  But  the 
officer  sent  to  surprise  the  place  betrayed  his  plans,  joined 
Ferrand  and  the  commissioners  of  the  Convention,  and  that 
fortress  also  was  lost  to  him.  Thus  Conde"  alone  was  left. 
Placed  between  France  and  the  enemy,  he  had  but  this  last 
point  of  support.  If  he  lost  that  he  must  submit  to  the 
imperialists,  he  must  put  himself  entirely  into  their  hands, 
and  he  must  run  the  risk  of  causing  his  army  to  revolt  by 
directing  them  to  march  along  with  it. 

On  the  1st  of  April  he  transferred  his  headcjuarters  to 
the  marshes  of  St.  Amand,  that  he  might  be  nearer  to  Conde\ 
He  ordered  Lecointre,  son  of  the  deputy  of  Versailles,  to  be 

*  See  Appendix  YYY. 


april  1793       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  8 1 

arrested,  and  [sent  him  as  an  hostage  to  Tournay,  begging 
Clairfayt,  the  Austrian,  to  keep  him  as  a  deposit  in  the 
citadel.  On  the  evening  of  the  2nd  the  four  deputies  of 
the  Convention,  preceded  by  Beurnonville,  arrived  at  the 
quarters  of  Dumouriez.  The  Berchiny  hussars  were  drawn 
up  before  the  door,  and  all  his  staff  were  around  him. 
Dumouriez  first  embraced  his  friend  Beurnonville,  and  asked 
the  deputies  the  object  of  their  mission.  They  refused  to 
explain  themselves  before  such  a  number  of  officers,  whose 
dispositions  appeared  to  be  far  from  satisfactory,  and  wished 
to  step  into  an  adjoining  apartment.  Dumouriez  consented ; 
but  the  officers  insisted  that  the  door  should  be  left  open. 
Camus  then  read  the  decree,  and  enjoined  him  to  submit  to 
it.  Dumouriez  replied  that  the  state  of  his  army  required 
his  presence,  and  that  when  it  was  reorganized  he  would 
see  how  he  ought  to  act.  Camus  insisted  with  emphasis ; 
but  Dumouriez  replied  that  he  would  not  be  such  a  dupe 
as  to  go  to  Paris  and  give  himself  up  to  the  revolutionary 
tribunal ;  that  tigers  were  demanding  his  head,  but  he  would 
not  give  it  to  them.  To  no  purpose  did  the  four  commis- 
sioners assure  him  that  no  harm  was  intended  to  his  person, 
that  they  would  be  answerable  for  his  safety,  that  this  step 
\\(  mid  satisfy  the  Convention,  and  that  he  should  soon  return 
to  his  army.  He  would  not  listen  to  anything,  begged  them 
not  to  drive  him  to  extremity,  and  told  them  that  they 
bad  better  issue  a  moderate  resolution  (arrets)  declaring  that 
General  Dumouriez  had  appeared  to  them  too  necessary  to 
be  withdrawn  from  his  army.  As  he  finished  these  words 
he  retired,  enjoining  them  to  come  to  a  decision.  He  then 
went  back  with  Beurnonville  to  the  room  where  he  had 
left  his  staff,  and  waited  among  his  officers  for  the  resolu- 
tion (arrets)  of  the  commissioners.  The  latter,  with  noble 
firmness,  came  out  a  moment  afterwards,  and  repeated  their 
summons.  "Will  you  obey  the  Convention?"  said  Camus. 
"No,"  replied  the  general.  "Well,  then,"  replied  Camus, 
"  you  are  suspended  from  your  functions  ;  your  papers  will 
be  seized,  and  your  person  secured."  "It  is  too  bad!"  ex- 
claimed Dumouriez.  "  This  way,  hussars  !  "  The  hussars  ran 
to  him.  "Arrest  these  men,"  said  he  to  them  in  German; 
••  hut  do  them  no  harm."  Beurnonville  begged  that  he  would 
let  him  share  their  fate.  "  Yes,"  replied  he  ;  "  and  I  think  I 
am  rendering  you  a  real  service.  I  am  saving  you  from  the 
revolutionary  tribunal." 

Dumouriez    ordered    refreshments    to    be    given    to    them, 
and  then  sent   them  off  to  Tournay.  to  be  kept    as  hostages 


282  HISTORY  OF  APML1793 

by  the  Austrians.  The  very  next  morning  he  mounted  his 
horse,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  army  and  to  France,  and 
found  in  his  soldiers,  especially  those  of  the  line,  dispositions 
to  all  appearance  the  most  favourable. 

Tidings  of  all  these  circumstances  had  successively  reached 
Paris.      The   interview    of    Dumouriez    with     Proly,    Dubuis- 
son,  and  Pereyra,  his  attempts  upon  Lille  and  Valenciennes, 
and  lastly,  the  arrest  of  the  four  commissioners,  were  known 
there.     The  Convention,  the  municipal  assemblies,  the  popu- 
lar societies,  immediately  declared  themselves  permanent.     A 
reward  was  offered  for  the  head  of  Dumouriez ;   and  all  the 
relatives    of   the    officers    of   his    army   were   apprehended   to 
serve   as  hostages.     Forty  thousand  men  were  ordered  to  be 
raised  in  Paris  and  the  neighbouring  towns,  for  the  purpose 
of  covering  the  capital ;  and  Dampierre  was  invested  with  the 
chief  command  of   the   army  in  Belgium.     To  these    urgent 
measures   had,    as    on    all    occasions,    been    added    calumnies. 
Dumouriez,    Orleans,    and    the    Girondins    were    everywhere 
classed  together,  and  declared  accomplices.     Dumouriez  was, 
it  was  said,   one   of  those   military  aristocrats,    a  member  of 
those   old   staffs,   whose    bad  principles  were  continually  be- 
traying themselves  ;   Orleans  was  the  first  of  those  grandees 
who   had    feigned    a   false    attachment  for   liberty,   and    who 
were  unmasking  after  an  hypocrisy  of  several  years ;   lastly, 
the  Girondins  were  but  deputies  who  had  become  unfaithful, 
like  all  the  members  of  all  the  right  sides,  and  who  abused 
their    mandates    for    the    overthrow    of    liberty.      Dumouriez 
was    only  doing  a    little  later    what    Bouille    and    Lafayette 
had    done   a  little    earlier.      Orleans    was  pursuing  the   same 
conduct  as  the  other  members  of  the  family  of  the  Bourbons 
had    already   pursued,   and   he    had   merely  persisted   in    the 
Revolution  a  little  longer  than  the  Comte  de  Provence.     The 
Girondins,   as    Maury  and   Cazales  in  the   Constituent,    Vau- 
blanc  and  Pastoret  in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  betrayed  their 
country  quite  as  visibly,  but  only  at  different  periods.     Thus 
Dnmouriez,  Orleans,  Brissot,  Vergniaud,  Guadet,  Gensonne,  &c, 
all  accomplices,  were  the  traitors  of  the  current  year. 

The  Girondins  replied  by  asserting  that  they  had  always 
been  hostile  to  Orleans,  and  that  it  was  the  party  of  the 
Mountain  who  had  defended  him  ;  that  they  had  quarrelled 
with  Dumouriez,  and  had  no  connection  with  him ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  those  who  had  been  sent  to  him  into  Belgium, 
those  who  had  accompanied  him  in  all  his  expeditions,  those 
who  had  always  shown  themselves  his  friends,  and  had  even 
palliated  his  conduct,  were  Mountaineers.     Lasource,  carrying 


appjl  1793       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  283 

boldness  still  further,  had  the  imprudence  to  name  Lacroix 
and  Danton,  and  to  accuse  them  of  having  checked  the  zeal 
of  the  Convention  by  disguising  the  conduct  of  Dumouriez. 
This  allegation  of  Lasource  roused  suspicions  already  enter- 
tained respecting  the  conduct  of  Lacroix  and  Danton  in 
Belgium.  It  was  actually  asserted  that  they  had  exchanged 
indulgence  with  Dumouriez ;  that  he  had  supported  their 
rapine,  and  that  they  had  excused  his  defection.  Danton. 
who  desired  nothing  from  the  Girondins  but  silence,  was 
filled  with  fury,  rushed  to  the  tribune,  and  swore  war  against 
them  to  the  death.  "No  more  peace  or  truce,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  between  you  and  us ! "  *  Distorting  his  face  in  a  fright- 
ful manner,  and  shaking  his  fist  at  the  right  side  of  the 
Assembly,  "  I  have  entrenched  myself,"  said  he,  "  in  the 
citadel  of  reason.  I  will  sally  from  it  with  the  cannon  of 
truth,   and  grind  to  powder  the   villains   who   have  dared  to 


accuse  me." 


The  result  of  these  reciprocal  accusations  was :  ( 1 )  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  commission  for  the  purpose  of  investigating 
the  conduct  of  the  commissioners  sent  to  Belgium  ;  (2)  the 
adoption  of  a  decree  which  was  destined  to  have  fatal  con- 
secpiences,  and  which  purported  that,  without  regard  to  the 
inviolability  of  representatives,  they  should  be  placed  under 
accusation  whenever  they  were  strongly  presumed  to  be  guilty 
of  complicity  with  the  enemies  of  the  State ;  (3)  lastly,  the 
apprehension  and  transfer  to  the  prison  of  Marseilles  of  Philip 
of  ( )rleans  and  all  his  family.  Thus  this  Prince,  the  football  of 
all  the  parties,  alternately  suspected  by  the  Jacobins  and  the 
Grirondins,  and  accused  of  conspiring  with  everybody  because 
tie  conspired  with  nobody,  furnished  a  proof  that  no  past 
greatness  could  subsist  amid  the  present  revolution,  and  that 
the  deepest  and  the  most  voluntary  abasement  could  neither 
dispel  distrust,  nor  save  from  the  scaffold. 

Dumouriez  felt  that  he  had  not  a  moment  to  lose.  Seeing 
Dampierre  and  several  generals  of  division  about  to  forsake 
him,  others  only  waiting  for  a  favourable  opportunity  to  do 
so,  lastly,  a  multitude  of  emissaries  busy  among  his  troops,  he 

*  "  One  man  alone  could  have  saved  the  Girondins ;  hut  they  completely 
alienated  him,  although  Dumouriez  had  counselled  them  to  keep  fair  with  him. 
This  man  was  Danton.  To  a  hideous  figure,  a  heart  harsh  and  violent,  much 
ignorance  and  coarseness,  he  united  great  natural  sense,  and  a  very  energetic 
character,  If  the  Girondins  had  possessed  good  sense  enough  to  have  coalesced 
with  him,  he  would  have  humbled  the  atrocious  faction  of  Marat,  either  tamed 
or  annihilated  the  Jacobins,  and  perhaps  Louis  would  have  been  indebted  to 
him  lor  his  life;  but  the  Girondins  provoked  him,  and  lie  sacrificed  everything 
io  his  vengeance." — Dumouriez'a  Memoirs. 


284  HISTORY  OF  April  1793 

thought  that  it  would  be  well  to  set  them  in  motion,  in  order 
to  engage  his  officers  and  his  men,  and  to  withdraw  them  from 
every  other  influence  but  his  own.  Besides,  time  pressed,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  act.  In  consequence,  he  agreed  upon 
an  interview  with  the  Prince  of  Ooburg  on  the  morning  of 
the  4th,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  definitively  with  him  and 
Colonel  Mack  the  operations  which  he  meditated.  The  meet- 
ing was  to  take  place  near  Conde.  His  intention  was  to  enter 
the  fortress  afterwards,  to  purge  the  garrison,  and  then,  pro- 
ceeding with  his  whole  army  upon  Orchies,  to  threaten  Lille, 
and  endeavour  to  reduce  it  by  displaying  all  his  force. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  he  set  out  for  the  purpose  of 
repairing  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  afterwards  to  Conde\ 
He  had  ordered  an  escort  of  only  fifty  horse,  and  as  it  did  not 
arrive  in  time,  he  started,  leaving  directions  that  it  should  be 
sent  after  him.  Thouvenot,*  the  son  of  Orleans,  some  officers, 
and  a  certain  number  of  attendants  accompanied  him.  No 
sooner  was  he  on  the  road  to  Conde  than  he  met  two  battalions 
of  volunteers,  whom  he  was  extremely  surprised  to  find  there, 
as  he  had  given  no  orders  for  them  to  shift  their  quarters.  He 
was  just  alighting  near  a  house  to  write  an  order  for  them  to 
return,  when  he  heard  shouts  raised,  and  the  firing  of  muskets. 
These  battalions  were  in  fact  dividing;  some  pursued  him, 
crying  "  Stop ! "  others  endeavoured  to  intercept  his  flight 
towards  a  ditch.  He  instantly  dashed  off  with  those  who 
accompanied  him,  and  distanced,  the  volunteers  who  were  in 
pursuit  of  him.  On  reaching  the  edge  of  the  ditch  his  horse 
refused  to  leap  it,  on  which  he  threw  himself  into  it,  and 
arrived  on  the  other  side  amidst  a  shower  of  shot ;  and  taking 
the  horse  of  one  of  the  attendants,  he  fled  at  full  speed  towards 
Bury.  After  riding  the  whole  day,  he  arrived  there  in  the 
evening,  and  was  joined  by  Colonel  Mack,  who  was  apprized 
of  what  had  happened.  He  spent  the  whole  night  in  writing 
and  in  arranging  with  Colonel  Mack  and  the  Prince  of  Coburg 
all  the  conditions  of  their  alliance ;  and  he  astonished  them 
by  his  intention  of  returning  to  his  army  after  what  had 
occurred. 

Accordingly,  in  the  morning  he  mounted,  and  accompanied 
by  some  imperial  horse,  returned  by  way  of  Maulde  to  his 
army.  Some  troops  of  the  line  surrounded  him  and  still  gave 
him  demonstrations   of  attachment ;    but  many  faces  looked 

*  ' '  Thouvenot  possessed  much  knowledge  relative  to  the  details  of  reconnoit- 
ring, encamping,  and  marching  ;  he  possessed  also  much  courage,  infinite  resources 
in  the  time  of  action,  indefatigable  exertion,  and  extensive  views.  Lafayette  had 
employed,  and  placed  the  utmost  reliance  on  him." — Dumouriez's  Memoirs. 


april  1793       THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  285 

very  sullen.  The  news  of  his  flight  to  Bury,  into  the  midst 
of  the  enemy's  armies,  and  the  sight  of  the  imperial  dragoons, 
produced  an  impression  fatal  for  him,  honourable  for  our 
soldiers,  and  happy  for  the  fortune  of  France.  He  was  in- 
formed, in  fact,  that  the  artillery,  on  the  tidings  that  he  had 
gone  over  to  the  Austrians,  had  left  the  camp,  and  that  the 
departure  of  that  very  important  portion  of  the  army  had 
disheartened  the  rest.  Whole  divisions  were  proceeding  to 
Valenciennes  to  join  Dampierre.  He  then  found  himself 
obliged  to  quit  his  army  definitively,  and  to  go  back  to  the 
imperialists.  He  was  followed  by  a  numerous  staff,  in  which 
were  included  the  two  sons  of  Orleans  and  Thouvenot,  and  by 
the  Berchiny  hussars,  the  whole  regiment  of  which  insisted  on 
accompanying  him. 

The  Prince  of  Coburg  and  Colonel  Mack,  whose  friend  he 
had  become,  treated  him  with  great  distinction,  and  wished  to 
renew  with  him  the  plans  of  the  preceding  night  by  appoint- 
ing him  to  the  command  of  a  new  emigrant  force  which  should 
be  of  a  different  character  from  that  of  Coblentz.  But  after 
two  days  he  told  the  Austrian  Prince  that  it  was  with  the 
soldiers  of  France,  and  accepting  the  imperialists  merely  as 
auxiliaries,  that  he  had  hoped  to  execute  his  projects  against 
Paris,  but  that  his  quality  of  Frenchman  forbade  him  to  march 
at  the  head  of  foreigners.  He  demanded  passports  for  the 
purpose  of  retiring  to  Switzerland.  They  were  immediately 
granted.  The  high  estimate  formed  of  his  talents,  and  the 
low  opinion  entertained  of  his  political  principles,  gained  him 
favours  not  shown  to  Lafayette,  who  was  at  this  moment  ex- 
piating his  heroic  constancy  in  the  dungeons  of  Olmiitz. 

Thus  terminated  the  career  of  that  superior  man,  who  had 
displayed  all  sorts  of  talents — those  of  the  diplomatist,  the 
administrator,  and  the  general ;  every  sort  of  courage — that 
of  the  civilian  withstanding  the  storms  of  the  tribune,  that 
of  the  soldier  braving  the  balls  of  the  enemy,  that  of  the 
commander  confronting  the  most  dangerous  situations  and 
the  perils  of  the  most  daring  enterprises  ;  but  who,  without 
principles,  without  the  moral  ascendency  which  they  confer, 
without  any  other  influence  than  that  of  genius,  soon  spent 
in  that  rapid  succession  of  men  and  circumstances,  had  re- 
solutely tried  to  struggle  with  the  Revolution,  and  proved, 
by  a  striking  example,  that  an  individual  cannot  prevail 
against  a  national  passion  until  it  is  exhausted.  In  going 
over  to  the  enemy  Dumouriez  had  not  for  his  excuse  either 
lioiiillc's  aristocratic  infatuation  or  Lafayette's  delicacy  of 
principles ;    for    he    had    tolerated    all    the    disorders    till    the 


286  HISTORY  OF  APML1793 

moment  when  they  ran  counter  to  his  projects.  By  his 
defection  he  may  fairly  be  alleged  to  have  hastened  the  fall 
of  the  Girondins,  and  the  great  revolutionary  crisis.  Yet  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  this  man,  without  attachment  to 
any  cause,  had  the  preference  of  reason  for  liberty  ;  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  he  loved  France  ;  that  when  no  one  be- 
lieved it  possible  to  withstand  the  foreign  foe,  he  attempted 
it,  and  relied  more  upon  us  than  we  did  upon  ourselves ; 
that  at  St.  Menehould  he  taught  us  to  face  the  enemy  with 
coolness ;  that  at  Jemappes  he  kindled  our  ardour,  and  re- 
placed us  in  the  rank  of  the  first-rate  powers ;  lastly,  we 
must  not  forget  that  if  he  forsook  us,  it  was  he  who  saved  us. 
Moreover,  he  passed  a  sad  old  age  far  away  from  his  country ; 
and  one  cannot  help  feeling  deep  regret  at  the  sight  of  a  man 
fifty  of  whose  years  were  spent  in  Court  intrigues,  and  thirty 
in  exile,  while  three  only  were  occupied  on  a  theatre  worthy 
of  his  genius. 

Dampierre  was  invested  with  the  chief  command  of  the 
army  of  the  North,  and  entrenched  his  troops  in  the  camp 
of  Famars,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  succour  any  of 
our  fortresses  that  might  be  threatened.  This  position,  which 
was  strong,  and  the  plan  of  campaign  adopted  by  the  Allies, 
according  to  which  they  had  agreed  not  to  penetrate  farther 
until  the  fortress  of  Mayence  should  be  retaken,  could  not 
but  retard  the  events  of  the  war  in  this  cpiarter.  Custine, 
who,  to  excuse  his  own  blunders,  had  never  ceased  to  accuse 
his  colleagues  and  the  ministers,  was  favourably  heard  when 
speaking  against  Beurnonville,  who  was  regarded  as  an 
accomplice  of  Dumouriez,  though  delivered  up  to  the  Aus- 
trians,  and  he  obtained  the  command  of  the  Rhine  from  the 
Vosges  and  the  Moselle  to  Huninguen.  As  the  defection 
of  Dumouriez  had  begun  with  negotiations,  the  penalty  of 
death  was  decreed  against  any  general  who  should  listen 
to  proposals  from  the  enemy,  unless  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people  and  the  republic  were  previously  recognized. 
Bouchotte  *  was  then  appointed  minister  at  war ;  and  Monge, 
though  highly  agreeable  to  the  Jacobins  for  his  complaisance, 
was  superseded  as  inadequate  to  all  the  details  of  that  im- 
mense department.  It  was  also  resolved  that  three  commis- 
sioners of  the  Convention  should  remain  constantly  with  the 
armies,  and  that  one  of  them  should  be  replaced  every  month. 

At  the  same  time  the  project  so  frequently  brought  for- 
ward, of  giving  greater  energy  to  the  action  of  the  govern- 

*  -See  Appendix  ZZZ. 


aphil  1793       TUE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  287 

merit  by  concentrating  it  in  the  Convention,  was  carried  into 
execution.  After  various  plans,  that  of  a  committee,  called 
the  committee  of  public  welfare,  was  adopted.  This  com- 
mittee, composed  of  nine  members,  was  to  deliberate  in 
private.  It  was  charged  to  superintend  and  to  accelerate 
the  action  of  the  executive  power  ;  it  was  even  authorized 
to  suspend  its  resolutions  (arrStds)  when  it  deemed  them 
contrary  to  the  general  interest,  with  the  proviso  that  it 
should  inform  the  Convention  of  the  circumstance  ;  and  to 
take  on  all  urgent  occasions  measures  of  internal  and  external 
defence.  The  arretSs,  signed  by  the  majority  of  its  members, 
were  to  be  instantly  carried  into  effect  by  the  executive  power. 
It  was  instituted  for  one  month  only,  and  could  not  deliver 
any  order  of  arrest,  unless  against  actual  perpetrators. 

The  members  nominated  to  compose  this  committee  were 
Barrere,  Delmas,  Breard,*  Cambon,  Robert  Lindet,f  Guyton- 
Morveaux,  Treilhard,  and  Lacroix  of  Eure  and  Loire.  Though 
not  yet  uniting  all  the  powers,  this  committee  nevertheless  had 
immense  influence.  It  corresponded  with  the  commissioners 
of  the  Convention,  gave  them  their  instructions,  and  had  autho- 
rity to  substitute  any  measures  that  it  thought  fit  in  place  of 
those  of  the  ministers.  Through  Cambon  it  ruled  the  finances, 
and  with  Danton  it  could  not  fail  to  acquire  the  influence  of 
1  liat  powerful  party-leader.  Thus  by  the  growing  effect  of 
danger  was  the  country  urged  on  towards  a  dictatorship. 

On  recovering  from  the  alarm  caused  by  the  desertion  of 
Dumouriez,  the  parties  next  began  to  charge  each  other  with 
being  accomplices  in  it ;  and  it  was  but  natural  that  the 
stronger  should  overwhelm  the  weaker.  The  sections,  the 
popular  societies,  which  in  general  led  the  way  in  everything, 
took  the  initiative,  and  denounced  the  Girondins  in  petitions 
and  addresses. 

A  new  society,  more  violent  than  any  yet  existing,  had  been 
founded  agreeably  to  a  principle  of  Marat.  He  had  said  that 
up  to  that  day  men  had  done  nothing  but  prate  about  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people  ;  that  according  to  this  doctrine,  well 
understood,  each  section  was  sovereign  in  its  own  district,  and 
had  a  right  to  recall  at  any  moment  the  powers  that  it  had 
given.  The  most  furious  agitators,  laying  hold  of  this  doc- 
trine,  had  in  fact  pretended  to  be  deputed  by  these  sections  to 
ascertain  the  use  that  was  made  of  these  powers,  and  to  con- 
sult upon  the  public  welfare.  They  met  at  the  K\<Vhe.  and 
declared    themselves     authorized    to    correspond   with    all    the 

*  Srr  Appendix  AAAA.  t  See  Appendix  B6BB. 


288  HISTORY  OF  APRIL1793 

municipalities  of  the  republic.  In  consequence  they  called 
themselves  the  central  committee  of  public  welfare.  Hence 
proceeded  the  most  inflammatory  propositions.  This  committee 
had  resolved  to  go  in  a  body  to  the  Convention  to  inquire  if  it 
possessed  the  means  of  saving  the  country.  It  had  attracted 
the  notice,  not  only  of  the  Assembly,  but  also  of  the  commune 
and  of  the  Jacobins.  Robespierre,  who  no  doubt  was  glad 
enough  of  the  consequences  of  insurrection,  but  who  dreaded 
the  means,  and  who  had  shown  fear  at  every  disturbance,  in- 
veighed against  the  violent  resolutions  which  seemed  to  be  pre- 
paring in  these  inferior  associations,  persevered  in  his  favourite 
policy,  which  consisted  in  defaming  the  deputies  whom  he  stig- 
matized as  unfaithful,  and  ruining  them  in  the  public  opinion, 
before  he  had  recourse  to  any  other  measure  against  them. 
Fond  of  accusing  his  opponents,  he  dreaded  the  employment  of 
force,  and  preferred  the  contests  of  the  tribunes,  which  were 
without  danger,  and  in  which  he  carried  off  all  the  honour. 

Marat,  who  had  at  times  the  vanity  of  moderation  as  well  as 
all  other  sorts  of  vanity,  denounced  the  society  of  the  Eveche, 
though  he  had  furnished  the  principles  upon  which  it  was 
formed.  Commissioners  were  sent  to  ascertain  if  the  members 
composing  it  were  men  of  extravagant  zeal  or  bribed  agitators. 
Having  satisfied  themselves  that  they  were  merely  too  zealous 
patriots,  the  society  of  the  Jacobins  would  not  exclude  them 
from  its  bosom,  as  had  been  at  first  suggested,  but  directed  a 
list  of  them  to  be  made  out,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  them  ; 
and  it  proposed  a  public  disapprobation  of  their-  conduct, 
alleging  that  there  ought  not  to  be  any  other  centre  of  public 
welfare  than  itself.  Thus  the  insurrection  of  the  10th  of  April 
had  been  prepared  and  condemned  beforehand.  All  those 
who  have  not  the  courage  to  act,  all  those  who  are  displeased 
at  seeing  themselves  distanced,  disapprove  the  first  attempts, 
though  all  the  while  they  desire  their  results.  Danton  alone 
maintained  profound  silence,  neither  disavowing  nor  disapprov- 
ing the  subordinate  agitators.  He  was  not  fond  of  triumphing 
in  the  tribune  by  long-winded  accusations,  and  preferred  the 
means  of  action  which  he  possessed  in  the  highest  degree, 
having  at  his  beck  all  the  most  immoral  and  turbulent  spirits 
that  Paris  contained.  It  is  not  known,  however,  whether  he 
was  acting  in  secret ;  but  he  kept  a  threatening  silence. 

Several  sections  condemned  the  association  at  the  Evechtj, 
and  that  of  Mail  presented  to  the  Convention  an  energetic 
petition  on  the  subject.  That  of  Bonne-Nouvelle  came,  on  the 
contrary,  and  read  an  address  in  which  it  denounced  Brissot, 
Vergniaud,  Guadet,  Gensonne,  &c,  as  friends  of  Dumouriez, 


Ai-itiL  1793      THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  289 

and  insisted  that  they  ought  to  be  struck  by  the  sword  of 
the  law.  After  vehement  agitation,  in  a  contrary  spirit,  the 
petitioners  were  admitted  to  the  honours  of  the  sitting ;  but 
it  was  declared  that  thenceforward  the  Assembly  would  not 
listen  to  any  accusation  against  its  members,  and  that  every 
denunciation  of  this  kind  should  be  addressed  to  the  committee 
of  public  welfare. 

The  section  of  the  Halle-au-Ble,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
violent,  drew  up  another  petition,  under  the  presidency  of 
Marat,  and  sent  it  to  the  Jacobins,  to  the  sections,  and  to 
the  commune,  that  it  might  receive  its  approbation,  and 
that  sanctioned  thus  by  all  the  authorities  of  the  capital,  it 
might  be  solemnly  presented  by  Pache,  the  mayor,  to  the 
Convention.  In  this  petition,  carried  about  from  place  to 
place,  and  universally  known,  it  was  alleged  that  part  of  the 
Convention  was  corrupted,  that  it  conspired  with  the  fore- 
stalled, that  it  was  implicated  with  Dumouriez,  and  that  it 
ought  to  be  superseded  by  the  commissioners.  On  the  10th 
of  April,  while  this  petition  was  hawking  about  from  section 
to  section,  Petion,  feeling  indignant,  desired  to  be  heard  on 
a  motion  of  order.  He  inveighed  with  a  vehemence  unusual 
with  him  against  the  calumnies  levelled  at  a  portion  of  the 
Convention,  and  called  for  measures  of  repression.  Danton, 
on  the  contrary,  claimed  honourable  mention  on  behalf  of  the 
petition  which  was  preparing.  Petion,  still  more  incensed, 
proposed  that  its  authors  should  be  sent  to  the  revolutionary 
tribunal.  Danton  replied,  that  upright  representatives,  strong 
in  a  clear  conscience,  need  not  be  afraid  of  calumny ;  that  it 
is  inevitable  in  a  republic,  and  that  besides,  they  had  not  yet 
either  repulsed  the  Austrians  or  framed  a  constitution  ;  con- 
sequently it  was  doubtful  whether  the  Convention  deserved 
praise.  He  afterwards  insisted  that  the  Assembly  should 
cease  to  pay  attention  to  private  quarrels,  and  that  those  who 
deemed  themselves  calumniated  ought  to  appeal  to  the  tribunals. 
The  question  was  therefore  disposed  of;  but  Fonfrede  brought 
it  forward  again,  and  again  it  was  set  aside.  Robespierre, 
who  dearly  loved  personal  quarrels,  brought  it  forward  afresh, 
and  demanded  permission  to  rend  the  veil.  Hv  was  allowed 
to  speak,  and  he  began  a  speech  full  of  the  most  bitter,  the 
most  atrocious  defamation  of  the  Girondins  in  which  he  had 
ever  indulged.  We  must  notice  this  speech,  which  shows  in 
what  colours  his  gloomy  mind  painted  the  conduct  of  his 
enemies. 

According  to  him  there  existed,  below  the  aristocracy 
dispossessed   in    1 789,  a  burgher   aristocracy,  as  vain    and   as 

VOL.   II.  17 


29o  HISTORY  OF  APKIL1793 

despotic  as  the  preceding,  and  whose  treasons  succeeded  those 
of  the  nobility.  A  frank  revolution  did  not  suit  this  class, 
and  it  wanted  a  king,  with  the  constitution  of  1 79 1 ,  to  assure 
its  domination.  The  Girondins  were  its  leaders.  Under  the 
Legislative  Assembly  they  had  secured  the  ministerial  de- 
partments by  means  of  Roland.  Clavieres,  and  Servan.  After 
they  had  lost  them  they  endeavoured  to  revenge  themselves 
by  the  20th  of  June  ;  and  on  the  eve  of  the  10th  of  August 
they  were  treating  with  the  Court,  and  offering  peace,  upon 
condition  that  the  power  should  be  restored  to  them.  On  the 
10th  of  August  itself  they  were  content  to  suspend  the  King 
without  abolishing  royalty,  and  appointed  a  governor  for  the 
Prince-Royal.  After  the  10th  they  seized  the  ministerial 
departments,  and  slandered  the  commune,  for  the  purpose  of 
ruining  its  influence  and  securing  an  exclusive  sway.  When 
the  Convention  was  formed  they  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  committees,  continued  to  calumniate  Paris,  and  to  represent 
that  city  as  the  focus  of  all  crimes  ;  and  they  perverted  the 
public  opinion  by  means  of  their  journals,  and  by  the  immense 
sums  which  Roland  devoted  to  the  circulation  of  the  most 
perfidious  writings.  Lastly,  in  January  they  opposed  the 
death  of  the  tyrant,  not  out  of  attachment  to  his  person,  but 
out  of  attachment  to  royalty.  This  faction,  continued  Robe- 
spierre, is  the  only  cause  of  the  disastrous  war  which  we  are 
at  this  moment  waging.  It  desires  it,  in  order  to  expose  us 
to  the  invasion  of  Austria,  which  promised  a  congress,  with 
the  burgher  constitution  of  1791.  It  has  directed  it  with 
perfidy,  and  after  employing  the  traitor  Lafayette,  it  has 
since  employed  the  traitor  Dumouriez,  to  attain  the  end 
which  it  has  been  so  long  pursuing.  At  first  it  feigned  a 
quarrel  with  Dumouriez ;  but  the  quarrel  was  not  serious,  for 
it  had  formerly  placed  him  in  the  ministry  by  means  of  his 
friend  Gensonne,  and  caused  him  to  be  allowed  six  millions 
for  secret  service  money.  Dumouriez,  in  concert  with  it, 
saved  the  Prussians  in  the  Argonne,  when  he  might  have 
annihilated  them.*  In  Belgium,  it  is  true,  he  gained  a  great 
victory  ;  but  it  required  an  important  success  to  obtain  the 
public  confidence,  and  once  obtained,  he  abused  it  in  every 
possible  way.     He  did  not  invade  Holland,  which  he  might 

*  "  The  Jacobins  endeavoured  to  convert  all  Dumouriez's  proceedings  into 
so  many  crimes.  Even  the  retreat  of  the  Prussians  served  as  the  foundation 
of  a  thousand  foibles.  After  imagining  that  he  had  released  himself  from  his 
embarrassments  by  deceiving  the  Prussians,  the  moment  the  Jacobins  learned 
the  dismal  state  of  the  enemy's  army,  and  yet  beheld  it  saved,  they  attributed 
the  excellence  of  its  retreat  to  a  collusion  between  Dumouriez  and  the  King  of 
Prussia. " — Dumouriez' s  Memoirs. 


apbil  1793      THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  9 1 

have  conquered  in  the  very»first  campaign ;  he  prevented  the 
union  of  the  conquered  countries  with  France ;  and  the  diplo- 
matic committee,  in  unison  with  him,  omitted  nothing  to 
keep  away  the  Belgian  deputies  who  demanded  the  union. 
Those  envoys  of  the  executive  power  whom  Dumouriez  had 
so  harshly  treated  because  they  annoyed  the  Belgians,  were 
all  chosen  by  the  Girondins  ;  and  they  contrived  to  send 
disorganizes  whose  conduct  could  not  fail  to  be  publicly 
condemned,  in  order  to  dishonour  the  republican  cause. 
Dumouriez,  after  making,  when  too  late,  an  attack  upon 
Holland,  returned  to  Belgium,  lost  the  battle  of  Neerwinden ; 
and  it  was  Miranda,  the  friend  and  the  creature  of  Petion, 
who  by  his  retreat  decided  the  loss  of  that  battle.  Dumou- 
riez then  fell  back  and  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  faction  was  exciting  the  insurrections 
of  royalism  in  the  West.  All  was  therefore  prepared  for 
this  moment.  A  perfidious  minister  had  been  placed  in  the 
war  department  for  this  important  circumstance.  The  com- 
mittee of  general  safety,  composed  of  all  the  Girondins, 
excepting  seven  or  eight  faithful  deputies,  who  did  not 
attend  its  meetings — this  committee  did  nothing  to  prevent 
the  public  dangers.  Thus  nothing  had  been  neglected  for 
the  success  of  the  conspiracy.  A  king  was  wanted ;  but 
all  the  generals  belonged  to  Egalite.  The  Egalite  family 
was  collected  around  Dumouriez  :  his  sons,  his  daughter,  ay, 
even  the  intriguing  Sillery,  were  along  with  him.  Dumouriez 
began  by  manifestoes,  and  what  did  he  say  ? — all  that  the 
orators  and  the  writers  of  the  faction  said  in  the  tribune  and 
in  the  newspapers :  that  the  Convention  was  composed  of 
villains,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  sound  portion ;  that 
Paris  was  the  focus  of  all  sorts  of  crimes  ;  that  the  Jacobins 
were  disorganizes,  who  excited  disturbance  and  civil  war. 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  Robespierre  accounted  for 
the  defection  of  Dumouriez  as  well  as  for  the  opposition 
of  the  Girondins.  After  he  had  at  great  length  developed 
this  artful  tissue  of  calumnies,  he  proposed  to  send  to  the 
revolutionary  tribunal  the  accomplices  of  Dumouriez,  all  the 
members  of  the  Orleans  family  and  their  friends.  "As  for 
tin'  deputies  Guadet,  Gensonne,  Vergniaud,  &c,  it  would  be," 
-aid  he,  with  malicious  irony,  "a  sacrilege  to  accuse  such 
11  plight  men;  and  feeling  my  impotence  in  regard  to  them, 
I  Leave  them  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Assembly." 

The  tribunes  and  the  Mountain  applauded  their  virtuous 
orator.  The  Girondins  were  incensed  at  this  infamous 
system,  in  which  a  perfidious  hatred  had  as  large  a  share  as 


292  HISTORY  OF  april  1793 

a  natural  distrust  of  disposition ;  for  there  was  in  this  speech 
an  extraordinary  art  in  combining  facts  and  obviating  objec- 
tions ;  and  Robespierre  had  displayed  in  this  base  accusa- 
tion more  real  talent  than  in  all  his  ordinary  declamations. 
Vergniaud  rushed  to  the  tribune  and  demanded  permission 
to  speak,  with  such  vehemence,  earnestness,  and  resolution, 
that  it  was  granted,  and  that  the  tribunes  and  the  Mountain 
at  length  left  it  to  him  undisturbed.  To  the  premeditated 
speech  of  Robespierre  he  opposed  one  delivered  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  with  the  warmth  of  the  most  eloquent  and 
the  most  innocent  of  men. 

He  would  presume,  he  said,  to  reply  to  Monsieur  Robe- 
spierre, and  he  would  not  employ  either  time  or  art  in  his 
reply,  for  he  needed  nothing  but  his  soul.  He  would  not 
speak  for  himself,  for  he  knew  that  in  times  of  revolution 
the  dregs  of  nations  are  stirred  up,  and  for  a  moment  rise 
above  the  good,  but  in  order  to  enlighten  France.  His  voice, 
which  more  than  once  had  struck  terror  into  that  palace 
from  which  he  had  assisted  to  hurl  tyranny,  should  carry 
terror  also  into  the  souls  of  the  villains  who  were  desirous 
of  substituting  their  own  tyranny  for  that  of  royalty. 

He  then  replied  to  every  inculpation  of  Robespierre, 
what  any  one  may  reply  from  the  mere  knowledge  of  the 
facts.  By  his  speech  in  July,  he  provoked  the  dethrone- 
ment of  the  King.  Shortly  before  the  10th  of  August, 
doubting  the  success  of  the  insurrection,  not  even  knowing 
whether  it  would  take  place,  he  pointed  out  to  an -agent  of 
the  Court  what  it  ought  to  do  in  order  to  reconcile  itself 
with  the  nation  and  to  save  the  country.  On  the  10th  of 
August  he  was  sitting  in  his  place  amidst  the  thunder  of 
cannon,  while  Monsieur  Robespierre  was  in  a  cellar.  He  had 
not  caused  the  dethronement  to  be  pronounced,  because  the 
combat  was  doubtful ;  and  he  proposed  the  appointment  of  a 
governor  for  the  Dauphin,  because,  in  case  royalty  should 
succeed  in  maintaining  itself,  a  good  education  given  to  the 
young  Prince  might  ensure  the  future  happiness  of  France. 
Himself  and  his  friends  caused  war  to  be  declared,  because 
it  was  already  begun,  and  it  was  better  to  declare  it  openly 
and  to  defend  oneself  than  to  suffer  without  making  it. 
He  and  his  friends  were  appointed  to  the  ministry  and 
upon  committees  by  the  public  voice.  In  the  commission 
of  twenty-one,  in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  they  opposed 
the  suggestion  for  leaving  Paris  ;  and  it  was  they  who  pre- 
pared the  means  which  France  displayed  in  the  Argonne. 
In  the  committee  of  general   safety  of  the   Convention  they 


April  1793      THE  FRENCLT  REVOLUTION.  293 

had  laboured  assiduously,  and  before  the  faces  of  their 
colleagues,  who,  if  they  pleased,  might  have  witnessed  all 
their  proceedings.  Robespierre  had  deserted  it,  and  never 
made  his  appearance  there.  They  had  not  calumniated 
Paris,  but  combated  the  murderers  who  usurped  the  name 
of  Parisians,  and  disgraced  Paris  and  the  republic.  They 
had  not  perverted  the  public  opinion,  since,  for  his  own 
part,  he  had  not  written  a  single  letter ;  and  what  Roland 
had  circulated  was  well  known  to  everybody.  He  and  his 
friends  demanded  the  appeal  to  the  people  on  the  trial  of 
Louis  XVI.,  because  they  were  of  opinion  that  on  so 
important  a  cjuestion  the  national  adhesion  could  not  be 
dispensed  with.  For  his  own  part,  he  scarcely  knew 
Dumouriez,  and  had"  seen  him  but  twice:  the  first  time,  on 
his  return  from  the  Argonne ;  the  second,  on  his  return  from 
Belgium ;  but  Danton  and  Santerre  saw  him,  congratulated 
him,  covered  him  with  caresses,  and  made  him  dine  with 
them  every  day.  As  for  Egalite,  he  had  just  as  little 
acquaintance  with  him.  The  Mountaineers  alone  knew  and 
associated  with  him  ;  and  whenever  the  Girondins  attacked 
him  the  Mountaineers  invariably  stood  forward  in  his  de- 
fence. What  then  could  he  and  his  friends  be  reproached 
with?  Underhand  dealings,  intrigues?  .  .  .  But  they  did 
not  run  to  the  sections  to  stir  them  up.  They  did  not  fill 
the  tribunes  to  extort  decrees  by  terror.  They  never  would 
suffer  the  ministers  to  be  taken  from  among  the  assemblies 
of  which  they  were  members.  Or  were  they  accused  of 
being  moderates?  .  .  .  But  they  were  not  so  on  the  10th  of 
August,  when  Robespierre  and  Marat  were  hiding  themselves. 
They  were  so  in  September,  when  the  prisoners  were  mur- 
dered, and  the  C4arde-Meuble  was  plundered. 

"You  know,"  said  Vergniaud  in  conclusion,  "whether  I 
have  endured  in  silence  the  mortifications  heaped  upon  me 
il  11  ring  the  last  six  months,  whether  I  have  sacrificed  to  my 
country  the  most  just  resentments ;  you  know  whether  upon 
pain  of  cowardice,  upon  pain  of  confessing  myself  guilty, 
upon  pain  of  compromizing  the  little  good  that  I  am  still 
allowed  to  do.  I  could  have  avoided  placing  the  impostures 
and  the  malignity  of  Robespierre  in  their  true  light.  May 
this  be  the  last  day  wasted  by  us  in  scandalous  debates  !  " 
Vergniaud  then  moved  that  the  section  of  the  Halle-au-Ble 
should  be  summoned  and  desired  to  bring  its  registers. 

The  talent  of  Vergniaud  had  captivated  his  very  enemies. 
I  lis  sincerity,  his  touching  eloquence,  had  interested  and 
convinced    the    great    majority    of    the   Assembly,    and    the 


294  HISTORY  OF  Aran,  1793 

warmest  testimonies  of  approbation  were  lavished  upon  him 
on  all  sides.  Guadet  desired  to  be  heard ;  but  at  sight  of 
him,  the  Mountain,  before  silent,  became  agitated,  and  sent 
forth  horrid  yells.  He  nevertheless  obtained  in  his  turn 
permission  to  reply,  and  he  acquitted  himself  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  excite  the  passions  much  more  powerfully 
than  Vergniaud  had  done.  None,  he  admitted,  had  conspired ; 
but  appearances  were  much  stronger  against  the  Mountaineers 
and  the  Jacobins,  who  had  been  in  connection  with  Dumouriez 
and  Egalite,  than  against  the  Girondins,  who  had  quarrelled 
with  both.  "  Who,"  exclaimed  Guadet,  "  who  was  with  Du- 
mouriez at  the  Jacobins,  at  the  theatres  ?  Your  Danton." 
"Aha!  dost  thou  accuse  me?"  rejoined  Danton;  "thou 
knowest  not  my  power." 

The  conclusion  of  Guadet's  speech  was  deferred  till  the 
following  day.  He  continued  to  fix  all  conspiracy,  if  there 
were  any,  on  the  Mountaineers.  He  finished  with  reading 
an  address,  which,  like  that  of  the  Halle-an-Ble\  was  signed 
by  Marat.  It  was  from  the  Jacobms,  and  Marat  had  signed 
it  as  president  of  the  society.  It  contained  these  words, 
which  Guadet  read  to  the  Assembly :  "  Citizens,  let  us  arm. 
Counter-revolution  is  in  the  government ;  it  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Convention.  Citizens,  let  us  march  thither,  let  us 
march  !  " 

"Yes,"  cried  Marat  from  his  place,  "yes,  let  us  march!" 
At  these  words  the  Assembly  rose  and  demanded  a  decree 
of  accusation  against  Marat.  Danton  opposed  it,  sa}Ting  that 
the  members  on  both  sides  of  the  Assembly  appeared  to  agree 
upon  accusing  the  family  of  Orleans,  that  it  ought  therefore 
to  be  sent  before  the  tribunals  ;  but  as  for  Marat,  he  could 
not  be  placed  under  accusation  for  an  expression  which  had 
escaped  him  amidst  a  stormy  discussion.  Some  one  replied 
that  the  family  of  Orleans  ought  not  to  be  tried  in  Paris,  but 
at  Marseilles.  Danton  would  have  continued,  but  without 
listening  to  him,  the  Assembly  gave  the  priority  to  the  decree 
of  accusation  against  Marat,  and  Lacroix  moved  that  he  should 
be  immediately  apprehended.  "  Since  my  enemies  have  lost 
all  modesty,"  cried  Marat,  "  I  demand  one  thing :  the  decree 
is  calculated  to  excite  a  commotion  ;  let  two  gendarmes  ac- 
company me  to  the  Jacobins,  that  I  may  go  and  recommend 
peace  to  them."  Without  listening  to  these  ridiculous  sallies, 
the  Assembly  ordered  him  to  be  taken  into  custody,  and 
directed  that  the  act  of  accusation  should  be  prepared  by 
noon  the  next  day. 

liobespierre  hastened  to  the  Jacobins  to  express  his  indigna- 


April  1793      THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  2  9  5 

tion,  to  praise  the  energy  of  Danton  and  the  moderation  of 
Marat,  and  to  recommend  to  them  to  be  calm,  that  people 
might  not  have  to  say  that  Paris  rose  to  liberate  a  Jacobin. 

On  the  next  day  the  act  of  accusation  was  read  and  approved 
by  the  Assembly,  and  the  accusation  so  frequently  proposed 
against  Marat  was  seriously  prosecuted  before  the  revolutionary 
tribunal.* 

It  was  an  intended  petition  against  the  Girondins  that  had 
produced  these  violent  altercations  between  the  two  sides  of 
the  Assembly  ;  but  nothing  had  been  enacted  on  the  subject ; 
neither,  indeed,  was  it  possible  to  enact  anything,  since  the 
Assembly  had  not  the  power  to  check  the  commotions  pro- 
duced by  the  petitions.  The  project  of  a  general  address  from 
all  the  sections  had  been  prosecuted  with  activity  ;  the  par- 
ticular form  of  it  had  been  determined  upon  ;  out  of  the  forty- 
three  sections,  thirty-five  had  adopted  it ;  the  general  council 
of  the  commune  had  approved  it ;  and  on  the  1 5th  the  com- 
missioners of  the  thirty-five  sections,  with  Pache,  the  mayor,  at 
their  head,  appeared  at  the  bar.  It  might  be  considered  as 
the  manifesto  in  which  the  commune  of  Paris  declared  its 
intentions,  and  threatened  insurrection  in  case  of  refusal.  So 
it  had  done  before  the  10th  of  August,  so  it  again  did  on  the 
eve  of  the  31st  of  May.  The  address  was  read  by  Real. 
procureur  of  the  commune.  After  dwelling  upon  the  criminal 
conduct  of  a  certain  number  of  deputies,  the  petition  prayed 
for  their  expulsion  from  the  Convention,  and  named  them  one 
after  another.  There  were  twenty-two  :  Brissot,  Guadet,  Verg- 
niaud,  Gensonne,  Grange-Neuve,  Buzot,  Barbaroux,  Salles, 
Biroteau,  Pontecoulant,  Petion,  Lanjuinais,  Valaze,  Hardy, 
Louvet,  Lehardy,  Gorsas,  Gauchet,  Lanthenas,  Lasource, 
Valady,  and  Chambon. 

The  reading  of  these  names  drew  forth  applause  from  the 
tribunes.  The  president  informed  the  petitioners  that  the  law 
recpiired  them  to  sign  their  petition.  They  instantly  complied. 
I 'ache  alone,  striving  to  prolong  his  neutrality,  hung  back. 
He  was  asked  for  his  signature,  but  replied  that  he  was  not 
one  of  the  petitioners,  and  had  only  been  directed  by  the 
general  council  to  accompany  them.     But  perceiving  that   it 

*  "The  Convention  felt  the  necessity  of  making  an  effort  to  resist  the  in- 
llaimnatory  proceedings  of  the  Jacobins.  By  a  united  effort  of  the  Girondins 
and  the  neutral  party,  Marat  was  sent  for  trial  to  the  revolutionary  tribunal, 
on  the  charge  of  having  instigated  the  people  to  demand  the  punishment  of 
the  national  representatives.  '1'his  was  the  first  instance  of  the  inviolability 
of  the  Convention  being  broken  in  upon  ;  and  as  such,  it  afforded  an  unfortu- 
nate precedent,  which  the  sanguinary  Jacobins  were  not;  slow  in  following." — 
Alison. 


296  ITTS TOR  Y  OF  april  1793 

was  impossible  for  him  to  recede,  he  advanced  and  signed 
the  petition.  The  tribunes  rewarded  him  with  boisterous 
applause. 

Boyer-Fonfrede  immediately  went  up  to  the  tribune,  and 
said  that,  if  modesty  were  not  a  duty,  he  would  beg  to  be 
added  to  the  glorious  list  of  the  twenty-two  deputies.  The 
majority  of  the  Assembly,  impelled  by  a  generous  emotion, 
cried,  "  Put  us  all  down — all !  ':  and  then  surrounded  the 
twenty-two  deputies,  embracing  them,  and  giving  them  the 
most  expressive  tokens  of  sympathy.  The  discussion,  inter- 
rupted by  this  scene,  was  adjourned  to  the  following  days. 

On  the  appointed  day  the  subject  was  accordingly  brought 
forward.  Reproaches  and  justification  recommenced  between 
the  two  sides  of  the  Assembly.  Some  deputies  of  the  centre 
took  occasion,  from  letters  written  on  the  state  of  the  armies, 
to  propose  that  they  should  direct  their  attention  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  republic,  and  not  waste  their  time  on  private 
quarrels.  The  Assembly  assented ;  but  on  the  1 8th  a  fresh 
petition  against  the  right  side  caused  that  of  the  thirty-five 
sections  to  be  again  brought  forward.  Various  acts  of  the 
commune  were  at  the  same  time  denounced.  By  one  it  de- 
clared itself  in  a  continual  state  of  revolution,  and  by  another 
it  appointed  within  its  bosom  a  committee  of  correspondence 
with  all  the  municipalities  in  the  realm.  It  had  in  fact  been 
long  striving  to  give  to  its  purely  local  authority  a  character 
of  generality  that  would  permit  it  to  speak  in  the  name  of 
France,  and  enable  it  to  rival  the  authority  of  the  Convention. 
The  committee  of  the  Eveche,  dissolved  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Jacobins,  had  also  had  for  its  object  to  put  Paris 
in  communication  with  all  the  other  towns ;  and  now  the 
commune  was  desirous  of  making  amends  by  organizing  that 
correspondence  in  its  own  bosom.  Vergniaud  addressed  the 
Assembly,  and  attacking  at  once  the  petition  of  the  thirty-five 
sections,  the  acts  imputed  to  the  commune,  and  the  designs 
revealed  by  its  conduct,  moved  that  the  petition  should  be 
declared  calumnious,  and  that  the  municipality  should  be  re- 
quired to  bring  its  registers  to  the  Assembly,  to  show  what 
resolutions  {arrU6s)  it  had  passed.  These  propositions  were 
adopted,  in  spite  of  the  tribunes  and  the  left  side.  At  this 
moment  the  right  side,  supported  by  the  Plain,  began  to  sway 
all  the  decisions.  It  had  caused  Lasource,  one  of  the  most 
ardent  of  its  members,  to  be  appointed  president ;  and  it 
had  again  the  majority,  that  is,  the  legality,  a  feeble  resource 
against  strength,  and  which  serves  at  best  but  to  irritate  it 
tin1  more. 


AntiLi793      THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  297 

The  municipal  officers,  summoned  to  the  bar,  came  boldly  to 
submit  the  registers  of  their  deliberations,  and  seemed  to  ex- 
pect the  approbation  of  their  resolutions  (arreUs).  These  regis- 
ters purported — (1)  that  the  general  council  declared  itself 
in  a  state  of  revolution  so  long  as  supplies  of  provisions  were 
not  ensured ;  (2)  that  the  committee  of  correspondence  with 
the  forty-four  thousand  municipalities  should  be  composed 
of  nine  members,  and  put  immediately  in  activity  ;  (3)  that 
twelve  thousand  copies  of  the  petition  against  the  twenty-two 
should  be  printed  and  distributed  by  the  committee  of  corres- 
pondence ;  (4)  lastly,  that  the  general  council  would  consider 
the  blow  aimed  at  itself  when  any  of  its  members,  or  when 
a  president  or  secretary  of  a  section  or  of  a  club,  should 
be  prosecuted  for  their  opinions.  This  last  resolution  had 
been  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  screening  Marat,  who  was 
accused  of  having,  as  president  of  a  section,  signed  a  seditious 
address. 

The  commune,  as  we  see,  resisted  the  Assembly  foot  to 
foot,  and  on  each  debated  point  adopted  a  decision  contrary 
to  that  of  the  latter.  If  the  question  related  to  the  supply 
of  necessaries,  it  immediately  constituted  itself  in  a  state  of 
revolution  if  violent  means  were  rejected.  If  it  related 
to  Marat,  it  covered  him  with  its  shield.  If  it  related  to 
the  twenty-two,  it  appealed  to  the  forty-four  thousand  muni- 
cipalities, and  placed  itself  in  correspondence  with  them  for 
the  purpose  of  demanding  from  them,  as  it  were,  general 
powers  against  the  Convention.  The  opposition  was  com- 
plete at  all  points,  and  accompanied,  moreover,  by  prepara- 
tions for  insurrection. 

No  sooner  was  the  reading  of  the  registers  finished  than  the 
younger  Robespierre  demanded  the  honours  of  the  sitting  for 
the  municipal  officers.  The  right  side  opposed  this  ;  the  Plain 
hesitated,  and  said  that  it  might  perhaps  be  dangerous  to  lower 
magistrates  in  the  estimation  of  the  people  by  refusing  them 
a  customary  honour  which  was  not  denied  even  to  the  humblest 
petitioners.  Amidst  these  tumultuous  debates  the  sitting  was 
prolonged  till  eleven  at  night.  The  right  side  and  the  Plain 
withdrew,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-three  members  only 
remained  with  the  Mountain  to  admit  the  Parisian  municipal  it  \ 
in  the  honours  of  the  sitting.  On  one  and  the  same  day  de- 
clared guilty  of  calumny,  repulsed  by  the  majority,  and  admitted 
to  the  honours  of  the  sitting  by  the  Mountain  and  the  1  rilmues. 
it  could  not  fail  to  be  deeply  exasperated,  and  to  become  the 
rallying-point  Eor  all  those  who  wished  to  break  down  the 
authority  of  the  Convention. 


298  HIS TOR  Y  OF  apeil  1793 

Marat  had  at  length  been  brought  before  the  revolutionary 
tribunal,  and  it  was  not  by  the  energy  of  the  right  side,  which 
had  as  it  were  carried  the  Plain  along  with  it,  that  his  accusa- 
tion had  been  decided  upon.  But  every  energetic  movement, 
while  it  is  honourable  to,  only  precipitates  the  ruin  of  a  party 
struggling  against  a  superior  movement.  The  Girondins,  by 
their  courageous  prosecution  of  Marat,  had  only  prepared  a 
triumph  for  him.  The  act  purported  in  substance  that  Marat, 
having  in  his  papers  encouraged  murder,  carnage,  the  degrada- 
tion and  dissolution  of  the  National  Convention,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  power  destructive  of  liberty,  was  decreed  to 
be  under  accusation,  and  delivered  over  to  the  revolutionary 
tribunal.  The  Jacobins,  the  Cordeliers,  all  the  agitators  of 
Paris,  had  set  themselves  in  motion  in  behalf  of  this  austere 
philosopher,  "formed,"  they  said,  "by  adversity  and  medita- 
tion, combining  great  sagacity  and  a  deep  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart  with  a  soul  of  fire,  and  whose  penetration  dis- 
covered the  traitors  in  their  triumphal  car,  at  the  moment 
when  the  stupid  herd  were  yet  offering  them  incense !  The 
traitors,"  cried  they,  "will  pass  away,  while  the  reputation  of 
Marat  is  only  commencing  !  " 

Though  the  revolutionary  tribunal  was  not  then  composed  as 
it  was  at  a  later  period,  still  Marat  could  not  be  condemned 
by  it.  The  discussion  lasted  only  a  few  moments.  The 
accused  was  unanimously  acquitted,  amidst  the  applause  of 
a  numerous  concourse  assembled  to  witness  his  trial.  This 
was  the  24th  of  April.  He  was  immediately  surroiinded  by 
a  mob.  composed  of  women,  sans- culottes  with  pikes,  and 
detachments  of  the  armed  sections.  They  laid  hold  of  him, 
and  set  out  for  the  Convention,  to  replace  him  in  his  seat  as 
deputy.  Two  municipal  officers  opened  the  procession.  Marat, 
lifted  in  the  arms  of  some  sappers,  his  brow  encircled  by  a 
wreath  of  oak,  was  borne  in  triumph  to  the  middle  of  the 
hall.  A  sapper  stepped  forward  from  the  crowd,  presented 
himself  at  the  bar,  and  said,  "  Citizen  President,  we  bring 
you  the  worthy  Marat.  Marat  has  always  been  the  friend 
of  the  people,  and  the  people  will  always  be  the  friends  of 
Marat.  If  Marat's  head  must  fall,  the  head  of  the  sapper 
shall  fall  first."  As  he  uttered  these  words  the  grim  petitioner 
brandished  his  axe,  and  the  tribunes  applauded  with  tumul- 
tuous uproar.  He  demanded  permission  for  the  escort  to 
file  off  through  the  hall.  "  I  will  consult  the  Assembly," 
replied  Lasource,  the  president,  dismayed  at  this  hideous 
scene.  But  the  crowd  would  not  wait  till  he  had  consulted 
the  Assembly,  and  rushed  from  all  sides  into  the  hall.     Men 


<4 


w 


april  1793      THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  299 

and  women  poured  in  pell-mell,  and  took  the  seats  left  vacant 
by  the  departure  of  the  deputies  disgusted  at  the  scene. 
Marat,  transferred  from  hand  to  hand,  was  hailed  with  ap- 
plause. From  the  arms  of  the  petitioners  he  passed  into 
those  of  his  colleagues  of  the  Mountain,  and  he  was  embraced 
with  the  strongest  demonstrations  of  joy.  At  length  he 
tore  himself  away  from  his  colleagues,  ran  to  the  tribune, 
and  declared  to  the  legislators  that  he  came  to  offer  them  a 
pure  heart,  a  justified  name,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  die 
in  defence  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  the  people. 

New  honours  awaited  the  Jacobins.  The  women  had  pre- 
pared a  great  number  of  crowns.  The  president  offered  him 
one.  A  child  about  four  years  old.  mounted  on  the  bureau, 
placed  another  upon  his  head.  Marat  pushed  away  the 
crowns  with  an  insolent  disdain.  "Citizens,"  said  he,  "in- 
dignant at  seeing  a  villainous  faction  betraying  the  republic, 
I  endeavoured  to  unmask  it,  and  to  put  the  rope  about  its  neck. 
It  resisted  me  by  launching  against  me  a  decree  of  accusa- 
tion. I  have  come  off  victorious.  The  faction  is  humbled, 
but  not  crushed.  Waste  not  your  time  in  decreeing  triumphs. 
Defend  yourselves  with  enthusiasm.  I  lay  upon  the  bureau 
the  two  crowns  which  have  just  been  presented  to  me,  and 
I  invite  my  fellow-citizens  to  await  the  end  of  my  career 
before  they  decide." 

Numerous  plaudits  hailed  this  impudent  modesty.  Robe- 
spierre was  present  at  this  triumph,  the  too  mean  and  too 
popular  character  of  which  he  no  doubt  disdained.  He  too, 
however,  was  destined  to  feel,  like  any  other,  the  vanity  of 
the  triumpher.  The  rejoicings  over,  the  Assembly  hastened 
to  return  to  the  ordinary  discussion,  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
means  of  purifying  the  government,  and  expelling  from  it 
the  traitors,  the  Rolandists.  the  Brissotins,  &c.  For  this 
purpose  it  was  proposed  to  draw  up  a  list  of  the  persons 
employed  in  all  the  departments  of  the  administration,  and 
to  mark  such  as  had  deserved  to  be  dismissed.  "  Send  me 
that  list,"  said  Marat,  "  I  will  pick  out  such  as  ought  to  be 
dismissed  and  retained,  and  signify  the  result  to  the  ministers." 
Robespierre  made  an  observation:  he  said  that  the  ministers 
were  almost  all  accomplices  of  the  culprits;  that  they  would 
1  Kit  listen  to  the  society;  that  it  would  be  better  to  address 
themselves  to  the  committee  of  public  safety,  placed  by  its 
functions  above  the  executive  council;  and  that,  moreover, 
the  society  could  not,  without  compromizing  itself,  communi- 
cate  with  ministers  who  were  guilty  of  malversation.  "These 
reasons  are  frivolous,"  replied    Marat,  with  disdain  ;   "  a  patriot 


3  oo  HISTOB  Y  OF  a pril  i  7  9  3 

so  pure  as  myself  *  might  communicate  with  the  devil.  I  will 
address  myself  to  the  ministers,  and  summon  them  to  satisfy 
us,  in  the  name  of  the  society. 

A  respectful  consideration  always  surrounded  the  eloquent 
Robespierre ;  but  the  audacity,  the  insolent  cynicism  of  Marat 
astonished  and  struck  every  enthusiastic  mind.  His  hideous 
familiarity  attached  to  him  some  sturdy  market-porters,  who 
were  flattered  by  this  intimacy  with  the  friend  of  the  people, 
and  who  were  always  ready  to  lend  his  puny  person  the  aid 
of  their  arms  and  their  influence  in  the  public  places. 

The  anger  of  the  Mountain  was  excited  by  the  obstacles 
which  it  had  to  encounter ;  but  these  obstacles  were  much 
greater  in  the  provinces  than  in  Paris  ;  and  the  disappoint- 
ments which  its  commissioners,  sent  to  forward  the  recruiting, 
met  with  on  their  way,  soon  increased  its  irritation  to  the 
highest  pitch.  All  the  provinces  were  most  favourably 
disposed  towards  the  Revolution ;  but  all  had  not  embraced 
it  with  equal  ardour,  or  signalized  themselves  by  so  many 
excesses  as  the  city  of  Paris.  It  is  always  idle  ambition, 
ardent  minds,  superior  talents,  that  are  the  first  to  engage 
in  revolutions.  A  capital  always  contains  a  larger  portion 
of  them  than  the  provinces,  because  it  is  the  rendezvous  of  all 
those  who,  from  independence  or  ambition,  abandon  the  soil, 
the  profession,  and  the  traditions  of  their  fathers.  Paris  of 
course  contained  the  greatest  number  of  Revolutionists.  Situ- 
ated, moreover,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  frontiers,  the 
aim  of  all  the  enemy's  blows,  it  had  been  exposed  to*  greater 
danger  than  any  city  in  France.  The  seat  of  the  authorities, 
it  had  seen  all  the  great  questions  discussed  in  its  bosom. 
Thus  danger,  discussion,  everything,  had  concurred  to  produce 
in  it  excitement  and  excess. 

The  provinces,  which  had  not  the  same  motives  for  agitation, 
beheld  these  excesses  with  horror,  and  had  participated  in 
the  sentiments  of  the  right  side  and  of  the  Plain.  Dissatis- 
fied more  especially  with  the  treatment  experienced  by  their 
deputies,  they  imagined  that  they  discovered  in  the  capital 
not  only  revolutionary  exaggeration,  but  also  the  ambition  to 
rule  France  as  Rome  ruled  the  conquered  provinces. 

*  "  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Marat  regarded  himself  as  the  apostle 
of  liberty,  and  the  more  undeniably  wrong  he  was,  the  more  infallible  he 
thought  himself.  Others  had  more  delight  in  the  actual  spilling  of  blood ; 
no  one  else  had  the  same  disinterested  and  dauntless  confidence  in  the  theory. 
He  might  be  placed  almost  at  the  head  of  a  class  that  exist  at  all  times, 
but  only  break  out  in  times  of  violence  and  revolution — who  form  crime  into 
a  code,  and  proclaim  conclusions  that  make  the  hair  of  others  stand  on  end." 
— Hazlitt. 


a  i  'KiL  1793      THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  3  o  1 

Such  were  the  feelings  with  which  the  quiet,  industrious, 
moderate  mass  regarded  the  Revolutionists  of  Paris.  These 
dispositions,  however,  were  more  or  less  strongly  expressed 
according  to  local  circumstances.  Each  province,  each  city, 
had  also  its  hot-headed  Revolutionists,  because  in  all  places 
there  are  adventurous  spirits  and  ardent  characters.  Almost 
all  the  men  of  this  stamp  had  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
municipalities,  and  to  this  end  they  had  availed  themselves 
of  the  general  renewal  of  the  authorities  ordered  by  the 
Legislative  Assembly  after  the  10th  of  August.  The  inactive 
and  moderate  mass  always  gives  way  to  the  more  bustling, 
and  it  was  natural  that  the  most  violent  spirits  should  possess 
themselves  of  the  municipal  functions,  the  most  difficult  of  all, 
and  those  which  require  most  zeal  and  activity.  The  great 
number  of  the  peaceable  citizens  had  withdrawn  into  the 
sections,  which  they  sometimes  attended,  to  give  their  votes, 
and  to  exercise  their  civil  rights.  The  departmental  functions 
had  been  conferred  on  persons  possessing  either  the  most 
wealth  or  the  most  consideration,  and  for  that  very  reason 
the  least  active  and  the  least  energetic  of  men.  Thus  all  the 
hot  Revolutionists  were  entrenched  in  the  municipalities,  while 
the  middling  and  wealthy  mass  occupied  the  sections  and  the 
departmental  functions. 

The  commune  of  Paris,  feeling  this  position,  had  resolved 
to  put  itself  in  correspondence  with  all  the  municipalities  ; 
but,  as  we  have  seen,  it  had  been  prevented  by  the  Con- 
vention. The  parent  society  of  the  Jacobins  had  made 
amends  for  this  by  its  own  correspondence ;  and  the  con- 
nection which  could  not  yet  be  established  between  muni- 
cipality and  municipality,  existed  between  club  and  club, 
which  amounted  to  nearly  the  same  thing ;  for  the  same 
men  who  deliberated  in  the  Jacobin  clubs  afterwards  went 
to  act  in  the  general  councils  of  the  communes.  Thus  the 
whole  Jacobin  party  of  France,  collected  in  the  municipalities 
and  in  the  clubs,  corresponding  from  one  extremity  of  the 
country  to  the  other,  found  itself  arrayed  against  the  middling 
mass,  an  immense  mass,  but  divided  into  a  multitude  of 
sections,  not  exercising  active  functions,  not  corresponding 
from  city  to  city,  forming  here  and  there  a  few  moderate  clubs, 
and  assembling  occasionally  in  the  sections,  or  in  the  depart- 
mental councils,  to  give  an  uncertain  and  timid  vote. 

It  was  this  difference  of  position  that  encouraged  the 
Revolutionists  to  hope  that  they  could  control  the  mass  of 
1  In-  population.  This  mass  admitted  the  republic,  but  desired 
ii    withoul    its  excesses:    and  at  the  moment  it  had  still  the 


30  2  HISTORY  OF  apkil  1793 

advantage  in  all  the  provinces.  Since  the  municipalities, 
armed  with  a  terrible  police  having  authority  to  pay  domi- 
ciliary visits,  to  seek  out  foreigners,  to  disarm  suspected 
persons,  could  annoy  the  peaceable  citizens  with  impunity, 
the  sections  had  endeavoured  to  effect  a  reaction  ;  and  they 
had  joined  for  the  purpose  of  curbing  the  municipalities.  In 
almost  all  the  towns  of  France  they  had  plucked  up  a  little 
courage ;  they  were  in  arms  ;  they  resisted  the  municipalities, 
inveighed  against  their  inquisitorial  police,  supported  the 
right  side,  and  together  with  it  demanded  order,  peace,  and 
respect  of  person  and  property.  The  municipalities  and  the 
Jacobin  clubs  demanded,  on  the  contrary,  new  measures  of 
police,  and  the  institution  of  revolutionary  tribunals  in  the 
departments.  The  people  of  certain  towns  were  ready  to  come 
to  blows  upon  these  questions.  The  sections,  however,  were  so 
strong  in  number  that  they  counteracted  the  energy  of  the 
municipalities.  The  Mountaineer  deputies  sent  to  forward  the 
recruiting  and  to  rekindle  the  revolutionary  zeal,  were  dismayed 
at  this  resistance,  and  filled  Paris  with  their  alarms. 

Such  was  the  state  of  almost  all  France,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  divided.  The  conflict  was  more  or  less  violent, 
and  the  parties  were  more  or  less  menacing,  according  to 
the  position  and  dangers  of  each  town.  Where  the  dangers 
of  the  Revolution  were  greater,  the  Jacobins  were  more  in- 
clined to  use  violent  means,  and  consequently  the  moderate 
mass  was  more  disposed  to  resist  them.  But  it  was  not  the 
military  danger  that  most  exasperated  the  revolutionary 
passions.  It  was  the  danger  of  domestic  treason.  Thus,  on 
the  northern  frontier,  threatened  by  the  enemy's  armies,  and 
not  much  wrought  upon  by  intrigue,  people  were  tolerably 
unanimous  ;  their  minds  were  intent  on  the  common  defence  ; 
and  the  commissioners  sent  to  all  parts  between  Lille  and 
Lyons  had  made  the  most  satisfactory  reports  to  the  Conven- 
tion. But  at  Lyons,  where  secret  machinations  concurred 
with  the  geographical  and  military  position  of  the  city  to 
render  the  peril  greater,  storms  had  arisen  as  terrible  as  those 
which  had  burst  upon  Paris. 

From  its  eastern  situation  and  its  vicinity  to  Piedmont, 
Lyons  had  always  attracted  the  notice  of  the  counter-revolu- 
tionists. The  first  emigrants  at  Turin  had  projected  a  move- 
ment there  in  1790,  and  even  sent  a  French  prince  to  that 
city.  Mirabeau  had  also  planned  one  in  his  way.  After  the 
great  majority  of  emigrants  had  removed  to  Coblentz,  an 
agent  had  been  left  in  Switzerland  to  correspond  with  Lyons, 
and  through  Lyons  with  the  camp  of  Jalus  and  the  fanatics 


APRIL  1793      THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  303 

of  the  South.  These  machinations  had  produced  a  reaction 
of  Jacobinism,  and  the  royalists  had  caused  Mountaineers  to 
spring  up  in  Lyons.  The  latter  had  a  club  called  the  central 
club,  composed  of  envoys  from  all  the  clubs  of  the  quarter. 
At  their  head  was  a  Piedmontese,  whom  a  natural  restless- 
ness of  disposition  had  driven  from  country  to  country,  and  at 
length  fixed  at  Lyons,  where  he  owed  his  revolutionary  ardour 
to  his  having  been  successively  appointed  municipal  officer 
and  president  of  the  civil  tribunal.  His  name  was  Chalier,* 
and  he  used  in  the  central  club  such  language  as  at  the 
Jacobins  in  Paris  would  have  caused  him  to  be  accused  by 
Marat  of  tending  to  convulse  everything,  and  of  being  in  the 
pay  of  foreigners.  Besides  this  club,  the  Lyonnese  Moun- 
taineers had  the  whole  municipality,  excepting  Niviere,  the 
mayor,  a  friend  and  disciple  of  Poland,  and  head  of  the 
Girondin  party  at  Lyons.  Weary  of  so  much  dissension, 
Niviere  had,  like  Petion,  resigned  his  office,  and,  like  Petion, 
been  re-elected  by  the  sections,  more  powerful  and  more 
energetic  at  Lyons  than  anywhere  else  in  France.  Out  of 
eleven  thousand  voters,  nine  thousand  had  obliged  Niviere 
to  resume  the  functions  of  mayor ;  but  he  had  again  resigned, 
and  this  time  the  Mountaineer  municipality  had  succeeded 
in  completing  itself  by  effecting  the  election  of  a  mayor  of 
its  choice.  On  this  occasion  the  party  had  come  to  blows. 
The  youth  of  the  sections  had  driven  Chalier  from  the  central 
club,  and  gutted  the  hall  in  which  he  vented  his  fanaticism. 
The  department  had  sent  in  alarm  for  the  commissioners  of 
the  Convention,  who,  by  censuring  first  the  sections,  and  then 
the  excesses  of  the  commune,  had  displeased  all  parties,  been 
denounced  by  the  Jacobins,  and  recalled  by  the  Conven- 
tion. Their  task  had  been  confined  to  awarding  compensa- 
tion to  the  central  club,  affiliating  it  with  the  Jacobins,  and 
without  abridging  its  energy,  ridding  it  of  some  too  impure 
members.  In  the  month  of  May  the  irritation  had  reached 
its  greatest  height.  On  the  one  hand,  the  commune,  com- 
posed entirely  of  Jacobins,  and  the  central  club,  with  its 
president,  Chalier,  demanded  a  revolutionary  tribunal  for 
Lyons,  and  paraded  through  the  public  places  a  guillotine 
which  had  been  procured  from  Paris,  and  which  was  exposed 
to  public  view  to  strike  terror  into  traitors  and  aristocrats  ; 
while,  on  the  other,  the  sections,  in  arms,  were  ready  to  curb 
the  municipality,  and  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  the 
sanguinary  tribunal,  from  which  the  Girondins  had  not  been 

*  Set  Appendix  CCCC. 


3o4  HIS  WHY  OF  April  1793 

able  to  save  the  capital.  In  this  state  of  things  the  secret 
agents  of  royalty  scattered  in  Lyons  awaited  the  favour- 
able moment  for  turning  to  account  the  indignation  of  the 
Lyonnese,  which  was  ready  to  break  forth. 

In  all  the  rest  of  the  South,  as  far  as  Marseilles,  the  mode- 
rate republican  spirit  prevailed  in  a  more  equal  manner,  and 
the  Girondins  possessed  the  undivided  love  of  the  country. 
Marseilles  was  jealous  of  the  supremacy  of  Paris,  incensed  at 
the  insults  offered  to  Barbaroux,  its  favourite  deputy,  and 
ready  to  rise  against  the  Convention  if  the  national  represen- 
tation were  attacked.  Though  wealthy,  it  was  not  situated  in 
an  advantageous  manner  for  the  counter-revolutionists  abroad  ; 
for  it  bordered  only  upon  Italy,  where  nothing  was  hatching, 
and  its  port  did  not  interest  the  English  like  that  of  Toulon. 
Secret  machinations  had  consecjuently  not  excited  such  alarm 
there  as  in  Lyons  and  Paris ;  and  the  municipality,  feeble  and 
threatened,  was  near  being  supplanted  by  the  all-powerful 
sections.  Moise  Bayle,  the  deputy,  who  was  very  coldly  re- 
ceived, had  found  great  ardour  for  the  recruiting,  but  absolute 
devotedness  to  the  Gironde. 

From  the  Rhone  in  the  East  to  the  shores  of  the  ocean  on 
the  West,  fifty  or  sixty  departments  entertained  the  same  dis- 
positions. At  Bordeaux,  lastly,  the  unanimity  was  complete. 
There  the  sections,  the  municipality,  the  principal  club — every- 
body, in  short,  agreed  to  resist  Mountaineer  violence,  and  to 
support  that  glorious  deputation  of  the  Gironde  to  which  this 
portion  of  France  was  so  proud  of  having  given  birth.  The 
adverse  party  had  found  an  asylum  in  a  single  section  only, 
and  everywhere  else  it  was  powerless  and  doomed  to  silence. 
Bordeaux  demanded  neither  maximum,  nor  provisions,  nor  re- 
volutionary tribunal,  prepared  petitions  against  the  commune 
of  Paris,  and  battalions  for  the  service  of  the  republic. 

But  along  the  coast  of  the  ocean,  extending  from  the 
Gironde  to  the  Loire,  and  from  the  Loire  to  the  mouths  of  the 
Seine,  were  to  be  found  very  different  dispositions  and  very 
different  dangers.  There  the  implacable  Mountain  had  not 
only  to  encounter  the  mild  and  generous  republicanism  of  the 
Girondins,  but  the  constitutional  royalism  of  1789,  which  re- 
pelled the  republic  as  illegal,  and  the  fanaticism  of  the  feudal 
times,  which  was  armed  against  the  Revolution  of  1793  as 
well  as  against  the  Revolution  of  1789,  and  which  acknow- 
ledged only  the  temporal  authority  of  the  gentry,  and  the 
spiritual  authority  of  the  Church. 

In  Normandy,  and  particularly  at  Rouen,  its  principal  city, 
there  was  a  feeling  of  strong  attachment  to  Louis  XVI.,  and 


April  1793      THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  305 

the  constitution  of  1790  had  gratified  all  the  wishes  that  were 
formed  for  liberty  and  the  throne.  Ever  since  the  abolition  of 
royalty  and  the  constitution  of  1790,  that  is,  since  the  10th  of 
August,  a  condemnatory  and  threatening  silence  had  prevailed 
in  Normandy.  Bretagne  exhibited  still  more  hostile  senti- 
ments, and  the  people  there  were  engrossed  by  fondness  for 
the  priests  and  the  gentry.  Nearer  to  the  banks  of  the  Loire 
this  attachment  amounted  to  insurrection  ;  and  lastly,  on  the 
left  bank  of  that  river,  in  the  Bocage,  Le  Loroux,  and  La 
Vendee,  the  insurrection  was  complete,  and  large  armies  of 
ten  and  twenty  thousand  men  were  already  in  the  field. 

This  is  the  proper  place  for  describing  that  singular  country, 
covered  with  a  population  so  obstinate,  so  heroic,  so  unfortu- 
nate, and  so  fatal  to  France,  which  it  nearly  ruined  by  a 
mischievous  diversion,  and  the  calamities  of  which  it  aggra- 
vated by  driving  the  revolutionary  dictatorship  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  irritation. 

On  both  banks  of  the  Loire  the  people  had  retained  a  strong 
attachment  to  their  ancient  habits,  and  particularly  to  their 
religion  and  its  ministers.  When,  in  consequence  of  the  civil 
constitution,  the  members  of  the  clerical  body  found  them- 
selves divided,  a  real  schism  ensued.  The  curds,  who  refused 
to  submit  to  the  new  circumscription  of  the  churches,  and  to 
take  the  oath,  were  preferred  by  the  people  ;  and  when,  turned 
out  of  their  livings,  they  were  obliged  to  retire,  the  peasants 
followed  them  into  the  woods,  and  considered  both  themselves 
and  their  religion  as  persecuted.  They  collected  in  little 
bands,  annoyed  the  constitutional  curds  as  intruders,  and  com- 
mitted the  most  heinous  outrages  upon  them.  In  Bretagne,  in 
the  environs  of  Rennes,  there  were  more  general  and  more 
serious  insurrections,  which  originated  in  the  dearth  of  pro- 
visions, and  in  the  threat  to  destroy  the  Church,  contained  in 
this  expression  of  Cambon  :  Those  who  will  have  mass  shall  pay 
for  it.  Government  had,  however,  succeeded  in  quelling  these 
partial  disturbances  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Loire,  and  it  had 
only  to  dread  their  communication  with  the  left  bank,  the 
theatre  of  the  grand  insurrection. 

It  was  particularly  on  this  left  bank,  in  Anjou,  and  Upper 
and  Lower  Boitou,  that  the  famous  war  of  La  Vendee  had 
broken  out.  It  was  in  this  part  of  France  that  the  influence  of 
time  was  least  felt,  and  that  it  had  produced  least  change  in 
the  ancient  manners.  The  feudal  system  had  there  acquired 
a  truly  patriarchal  character;  and  the  Revolution,  instead  of 
effecting  a  beneficial  reform  in  the  country,  had  shocked  Hie 
most  kindly  habits,  and  been  received  as  a  persecution.     The 

VOL.    II.  -18 


306  HISTORY  OF  APRIL1793 

Bocage  and  the  Marais  constitute  a  singular  country,  which  it 
is  necessary  to  describe,  in  order  to  convey  an  idea  of  the 
manners  of  the  population,  and  the  kind  of  society  that  was 
formed  there. 

Setting  out  from  Nantes  and  Saumur,  and  proceeding  from 
the  Loire  to  the  sands  of  Olonne,  Lucon,  Fontenay,  and  Niort, 
you  meet  with  an  unequal  undulating  soil,  intersected  by 
ravines,  and  crossed  by  a  multitude  of  hedges,  which  serve 
to  fence  in  each  field,  and  which  have  on  this  account 
obtained  for  the  country  the  name  of  The  Bocage.  As  you 
approach  the  sea  the  ground  declines,  till  it  terminates  in 
salt  marshes,  and  is  everywhere  cut  up  by  a  multitude  of 
small  canals,  which  render  access  almost  impossible.  This  is 
what  is  called  The  Marais.  The  only  abundant  produce  in 
this  country  is  pasturage ;  consequently  cattle  are  plentiful. 
The  peasants  there  grew  only  just  sufficient  corn  for  their  own 
consumption,  and  employed  the  produce  of  their  herds  and 
flocks  as  a  medium  of  exchange.  It  is  well  known  that  no 
people  are  more  simple  than  those  subsisting  by  this  kind  of 
industry.  Few  great  towns  had  been  built  in  these  parts. 
They  contained  only  large  villages  of  two  or  three  thousand 
souls.  Between  the  two  highroads — leading,  the  one  from 
Tours  to  Poitiers,  and  the  other  from  Nantes  to  La  Rochelle — 
extended  a  tract  thirty  leagues  in  breadth,  where  there  were 
none  but  cross-roads  leading  to  villages  and  hamlets.  The 
country  was  divided  into  a  great  number  of  small  farms, 
paying  a  rent  of  from  five  to  six  hundred  francs,  each  let  to 
a  single  family,  which  divided  the  produce  of  the  cattle  with 
the  proprietor  of  the  land.  From  this  division  of  farms  the 
seigneurs  had  to  treat  with  each  family,  and  kept  up  a  con- 
tinual and  easy  intercourse  with  them.  The  simplest  mode 
of  life  prevailed  in  the  mansions  of  the  gentry  ;  they  were 
fond  of  the  chase,  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  game ; 
the  gentry  and  the  peasants  hunted  together,  and  they  were 
all  celebrated  for  their  skill  and  vigour.*  The  priests — men 
of  extraordinary  purity  of  character — exercised  there  a  truly 
paternal  ministry.    Wealth  had  neither  corrupted  their  manners 

*  "The  gentlemen's  residences  were  built  and  furnished  without  magnifi- 
cence, and  had  neither  extensive  parks  nor  fine  gardens.  Their  owners  lived 
without  pomp,  and  even  with  extreme  simplicity.  When  called  to  the  capital 
on  business  or  pleasure,  they  did  not  return  to  the  Bocage  with  the  airs  and 
manners  of  Paris.  Their  greatest  luxury  at  home  was  the  table,  and  their  only 
amusement  field  sports.  The  women  travelled  on  horseback,  and  in  litters  or 
carriages  drawn  by  oxen.  The  seigneur  went  to  the  weddings  of  his  tenants' 
children,  and  drank  with  the  guests.  On  Sunday  the  tenants  danced  in  the 
court  of  the  chateau,  and  the  ladies  often  joined.     When  there  was  to  be  a  hunt 


aprtl  1793      TEE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  307 

nor  provoked  censure  regarding  them.  People  submitted  to 
the  authority  of  the  seigneur,  and  believed  the  words  of  the 
cure,  because  there  was  no  oppression  in  the  one  nor  scandal 
in  the  other.  Before  humanity  throws  itself  into  the  track 
of  civilization,  there  is  a  point  of  simplicity,  ignorance,  and 
purity,  where  one  would  wish  to  stop  it,  were  it  not  its  lot 
to  proceed  through  evil  towards  all  sorts  of  improvement. 

When  the  Revolution,  so  beneficent  in  other  quarters, 
reached  this  country,  with  its  iron  level,  it  produced  profound 
agitation.  It  had  been  well  if  it  could  have  made  an  exception 
there  ;  but  that  was  impossible.  Those  who  have  accused  it  of 
not  adapting  itself  to  localities,  of  not  varying  with  them,  are 
not  aware  of  the  impossibility  of  exceptions,  and  the  necessity 
of  one  uniform  and  absolute  rule  in  great  social  reforms.  In 
these  parts  then  people  knew  scarcely  anything  about  the 
Revolution  —  they  knew  what  the  discontent  of  the  gentry 
and  the  cure^s  had  taught  them.  Though  the  feudal  dues  were 
abolished  they  continued  to  pay  them.  They  were  obliged 
to  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  electing  mayors ;  they  did  so, 
and  begged  the  seigneurs  to  accept  the  office.  But  when  the 
removal  of  the  nonjuring  priests  deprived  the  peasants  of 
the  ministers  in  whom  they  had  confidence,  they  were  vehe- 
mently exasperated,  and  as  in  Bretagne,  they  ran  into  the 
woods,  and  travelled  to  a  considerable  distance  to  attend  the 
ceremonies  of  a  worship  the  only  true  one  in  their  estimation. 
From  that  moment  a  violent  hatred  was  kindled  in  their 
souls,  and  the  priests  neglected  no  means  of  fanning  the 
flames.  The  10th  of  August  drove  several  Poitevin  nobles 
back  to  their  estates;  the  21st  of  January  estranged  them, 
and  they  communicated  their  indignation  to  those  about  them. 
They  did  not  conspire,  however,  as  some  have  conceived.  The 
known  dispositions  of  the  country  had  incited  men  who  were 
strangers  to  it  to  frame  plans  of  conspiracy.  One  had  been 
hatched  in  Bretagne,  but  none  was  formed  in  the  Bocage  ; 
there  was  no  concerted  plan  there — people  suffered  them- 
selves to  be  driven  to  extremity.  At  length  the  levy  of  three 
hundred  thousand  men  excited,  in  the  month  of  March,  a 
general  insurrection.  At  bottom  it  was  of  little  consequence 
to  the  peasants  of  Lower  Poitou  what  France  was  doing  ;  but 

of  the  wolf,  or  boar,  or  stag,  the  information  was  communicated  by  the  curate 
to  the  parishioners  in  church  after  service.  With  these  habits,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Bocage  were  an  excellent  people — mild,  pious,  hospitable,  full  of 
courage  ami  vivacity;  of  pure  manners  and  honest  principles.  Crimes  were 
never  heard  of,  and  lawsuits  were  rare." — Memoirs  of  tht  Marchioness  dc 
La  rochejaq  uelc  in. 


3 o  8  HISTOR  Y  OF  apeil  1793 

the  removal  of  their  clergy,  and  above  all,  the  obligation  to 
join  the  armies,  disgusted  them.  Under  the  old  system  it 
was  only  those  who  were  urged  by  a  naturally  restless  dis- 
position to  quit  their  native  land  who  composed  the  con- 
tingent of  the  country ;  but  now  the  law  laid  hold  of  all, 
whatever  might  be  their  personal  inclinations.  Obliged  to 
take  arms,  they  chose  rather  to  fight  against  the  republic 
than  for  it.  Nearly  about  the  same  time,  that  is,  at  the 
beginning  of  March,  the  drawing  was  the  occasion  of  an  in- 
surrection in  the  Upper  Bocage  and  in  the  Marais.  On  the 
ioth  of  March  the  drawing  was  to  take  place  at  St.  Florent, 
near  Ancenis,  in  Anjou.  The  young  men  refused  to  draw ; 
the  guard  endeavoured  to  force  them  to  comply.  The  mili- 
tary commandant  ordered  a  piece  of  cannon  to  be  pointed 
and  fired  at  the  mutineers.  They  dashed  forward  with  their 
bludgeons,  made  themselves  masters  of  the  piece,  disarmed 
the  guard,  and  were  at  the  same  time  not  a  little  astonished 
at  their  own  temerity.  A  carrier  named  Cathelineau,*  a  man 
highly  esteemed  in  that  part  of  the  country,  possessing  great 
bravery  and  powers  of  persuasion,  quitting  his  farm  on  hear- 
ing the  tidings,  hastened  to  join  them,  rallied  them,  roused 
their  courage,  and  gave  some  consistency  to  the  insurrection 
by  his  skill  in  keeping  it  up.  The  very  same  day  he  resolved 
to  attack  a  republican  post  consisting  of  eighty  men.  The 
peasants  followed  him  with  their  bludgeons  and  their  muskets. 
After  a  first  volley,  every  shot  of  which  told,  because  they 
were  excellent  marksmen,  they  rushed  upon  the  post,"  disarmed 
it,  and  made  themselves  masters  of  the  position. 

Next  day  Cathelineau  proceeded  to  Chemille,  which  he 
likewise  took,  in  spite  of  two  hundred  republicans  and  three 
pieces  of  cannon.  A  gamekeeper  at  the  chateau  of  Mau- 
levrier,  named  Stofflet,|  and  a  young  peasant  of  the  village 
of  Chanzeau,  had  on  their  part  collected  a  band  of  peasants. 
These  came  and  joined  Cathelineau,  who  conceived  the  daring 
design  of  attacking  Chollet,  the  most  considerable  town  in 
the  country,  the  chief  place  of  a  district,  and  guarded  by 
five  hundred  republicans.  Their  mode  of  fighting  was  this  : 
Favoured  by  the  hedges  and  the  inequalities  of  the  ground, 
they  surrounded  the  enemy's  battalion,  and  began  to  fire 
upon  it  under  cover,  and  taking  steady  aim.  Having  daunted 
the  republicans  by  this  terrible  fire,  they  took  advantage  of 
the  first  moment  of  hesitation  that  appeared,  to  rush  upon 
them  with  loud  shouts,  broke  their  ranks,  disarmed  them,  and 

*  See  Appendix  DDDD.  t  See  Appendix  EEEE. 


apfjl  1793      THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  309 

despatched  them  with  their  cudgels.  Such  was  afterwards 
their  whole  system  of  military  tactics :  nature  taught  it  them, 
and  it  was  that  best  adapted  to  their  country.  The  troops 
whom  they  attacked,  drawn  up  in  line  and  uncovered,  re- 
ceived a  tire  which  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  return, 
because  they  could  neither  make  use  of  their  artillery,  nor 
charge  scattered  enemies  with  the  bayonet.  In  this  situa- 
tion, if  they  were  not  inured  to  war,  they  could  not  fail  to 
be  soon  staggered  by  a  fire  so  incessant,  so  true,  that  no 
regular  fire  of  troops  of  the  line  could  ever  equal  it.  When, 
in  particular,  they  saw  these  furious  assailants  rushing  upon 
them,  setting  up  loud  shouts,  they  could  scarcely  help  being 
intimidated,  and  suffering  their  ranks  to  be  broken.  It  was 
then  all  over  with  them  ;  for  flight,  so  easy  to  the  country 
people,  was  impossible  for  troops  of  the  line.  It  would  there- 
fore have  required  the  most  intrepid  soldiers  to  surmount  so 
many  disadvantages ;  and  those  who  in  the  first  danger  were 
opposed  to  the  rebels  were  national  guards  of  the  first  levy 
taken  from  the  villages,  almost  all  stanch  republicans,  and 
whose  zeal  carried  them  for  the  first  time  to  the  fight. 

The  victorious  band  of  Cathelineau  entered  Chollet,  seized 
all  the  arms  that  it  could  find,  and  made  cartridges  out  of 
the  charges  of  the  cannon.  It  was  always  in  this  manner 
that  the  Vendeans  procured  ammunition.  By  none  of  their 
defeats  was  their  enemy  a  gainer,  because  they  had  nothing 
but  a  musket  or  a  bludgeon,  which  they  carried  with  them 
across  the  country ;  and  each  of  their  victories  was  sure  to 
give  them  a  considerable  maUriel  of  war.  The  insurgents, 
when  victorious,  celebrated  their  success  with  the  money  which 
they  found,  and  then  burned  all  the  papers  of  the  adminis- 
trations, which  they  regarded  as  instruments  of  tyranny.  They 
then  returned  to  their  villages  and  their  farms,  which  they 
would  not  leave  again  for  a  considerable  time. 

Another  much  more  general  revolt  had  broken  out  in  the 
Marais  and  the  department  of  La  Vendee.  At  Machecoul 
and  Challans  the  recruiting  was  the  occasion  of  a  universal 
insurrection.  A  hairdresser  named  (iaston  killed  an  oflicer, 
took  his  uniform,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  troop,  took 
Challans.  and  then  Machecoul,  where  his  men  burned  all 
the  papers  of  the  administrations,  and  committed  murders, 
of  which  the  Hocage  had  furnished  no  example.  Three 
hundred  republicans  were  shot  by  parties  of  twenty  or  thirty. 
The  insurgents  lirsl  made  them  confess,  and  then  took  them 
to  the  edge  of  a  ditch,  beside  which  they  shot  them,  to  spare 
themselves  the  trouble  of  burying  the  bodies.     Nantes  instantly 


3  i  o  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  april  1793 

sent  several  hundred  men  to  St.  Philibert ;  but  learning  that 
there  was  a  disturbance  at  Savenay,  it  recalled  those  troops, 
and  the  insurgents  of  Machecoul  remained  masters  of  the 
conquered  country. 

In  the  department  of  La  Vendee,  that  is,  to  the  south  of 
the  theatre  of  this  war,  the  insurrection  assumed  still  more 
consistence. 

The  national  guards  of  Fontenay,  having  set  out  on  their 
march  for  Chantonnay,  were  repulsed  and  beaten.  Chan- 
tonnay  was  plundered.  General  Verteuil,  who  commanded 
the  eleventh  military  division,  on  receiving  intelligence  of 
this  defeat,  despatched  General  Marce  with  twelve  hundred 
men,  partly  troops  of  the  line,  and  partly  national  guards. 
The  rebels  who  were  met  at  St.  Vincent  were  repulsed. 
General  Marce"  had  time  to  add  twelve  hundred  more  men 
and  nine  pieces  of  cannon  to  his  little  army.  In  marching 
upon  St.  Fulgent  he  again  fell  in  with  the  Vendeans  in 
a  valley,  and  stopped  to  restore  a  bridge  which  they  had 
destroyed.  About  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  18th  of 
March,  the  Vendeans,  taking  the  initiative,  advanced  and 
attacked  him.  Availing  themselves,  as  usual,  of  the  advan- 
tages of  the  ground,  they  began  to  fire  with  their  wonted 
superiority,  by  degrees  surrounded  the  republican  army, 
astonished  at  this  so  destructive  fire,  and  utterly  unable  to 
reach  an  enemy  concealed  and  dispersed  in  all  the  hollows  of 
the  ground.  At  length  they  rushed  on  to  the  assault,  threw 
their  adversaries  into  disorder,  and  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  artillery,  the  ammunition,  and  the  arms  which  the  soldiers 
threw  away  that  they  might  be  the  lighter  in  their  flight. 

These  more  important  successes  in  the  department  of  La 
Vendee  properly  so  called,  procured  for  the  insurgents  the 
name  of  Vendeans,  which  they  afterwards  retained,  though 
the  war  was  far  more  active  out  of  La  Vendue.  The  pillage 
committed  by  them  in  the  Marais  caused  them  to  be  called 
brigands,  though  the  greater  number  did  not  deserve  that 
appellation.  The  insurrection  extended  into  the  Marais  from 
the  environs  of  Nantes  to  Les  Sables,  and  into  Anjou  and 
Poitou  as  far  as  the  environs  of  Vihiers  and  Parthenay. 
The  cause  of  the  success  of  the  Vendeans  was  in  the  country, 
in  its  configuration,  in  their  skill  and  courage  to  profit  by  it, 
and  finally,  in  the  inexperience  and  imprudent  ardour  of  the 
republican  troops,  which,  levied  in  haste,  were  in  too  great 
a  hurry  to  attack  them,  and  thus  gave  them  victories  and  all 
their  results,  military  stores,  confidence,  and  courage. 

Easter    recalled    all   the   insurgents   to   their   homes,    from 


april  1793      THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  3  1  l 

which  they  never  would  stay  away  long.  To  them  war  was 
a  sort  of  sporting  excursion  of  several  days  :  they  carried 
with  them  a  sufficient  quantity  of  bread  for  the  time,  and 
then  returned  to  inflame  their  neighbours  by  the  accounts 
which  they  gave.  Places  of  meeting  were  appointed  for  the 
month  of  April.  The  insurrection  was  then  general,  and 
extended  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  country.  It  might 
be  comprised  in  a  line  which,  commencing  at  Nantes,  would 
pass  through  Pornic,  the  Isle  of  Noirmoutiers,  Les  Sables, 
Lucon,  Fontenay,  Niort,  and  Parthenay,  and  return  by  Airvault, 
Thouars,  Doue\  and  St.  Florent,  to  the  Loire.  The  insurrec- 
tion, begun  by  men  who  were  not  superior  to  the  peasants 
whom  they  commanded,  excepting  by  their  natural  qualities, 
was  soon  continued  by  men  of  a  higher  rank.  The  peasants 
went  to  the  mansions  and  forced  the  nobles  to  put  themselves 
at  their  head.  The  whole  Marais  insisted  on  being  commanded 
by  Charette.*  He  belonged  to  a  family  of  shipowners  at 
Nantes  ;  he  had  served  in  the  navy,  in  which  he  had  become 
lieutenant,  and  at  the  peace  had  retired  to  a  mansion  belong- 
ing to  his  uncle,  where  he  spent  his  time  in  field  sports.  Of 
a  weak  and  delicate  constitution,  he  seemed  to  be  unfit  for 
the  fatigues  of  war ;  but  living  in  the  woods,  where  he  passed 
whole  months,  sleeping  on  the  ground  with  the  huntsmen,  he 
had  hardened,  and  made  himself  perfectly  acquainted  with 
the  country,  and  was  known  to  all  the  peasantry  for  his 
address  and  courage.  He  hesitated  at  first  to  accept  the 
command,  representing  to  the  insurgents  the  dangers  of  the 
undertaking.  He  nevertheless  complied  with  their  earnest 
desire  ;  and  by  allowing  them  to  commit  all  sorts  of  excesses, 
he  compromized  them,  and  bound  them  irrevocably  to  his 
service.  Skilful,  crafty,  of  a  harsh  disposition,  and  uncon- 
querably obstinate,  he  became  the  most  formidable  of  the 
Vendean  chieftains.  All  the  Marais  obeyed  him,  and  with 
fifteen  and  sometimes  twenty  thousand  men  he  threatened 
Les  Sables  and  Nantes.  No  sooner  were  all  his  men  collected 
than  he  took  possession  of  the  Isle  of  Noirmoutiers,  an  im- 
portant island,  which  he  could  convert  into  his  fortress,  and 
liis  point  of  communication  with  the  English. 

In  the  Pocage  the  peasants  applied  to  MM.  de  Ponchamps. 
d'Elbee,f  and  de  Larochejaquelein,  and  forced  them  from  their 
mansions  to  place  them  at  their  head.  M.  de  Ponchamps 
had  formerly  served  under  M.  de  Sull'ren,  had  become  an  ex- 
cellent officer,  and  combined  great  intrepidity   with  a  noble 

*  Sec  Appendix  FFFF.  +  See  Appendix  t;(!GG. 


3 1 2  HISTORY  OF  April  1793 

and  elevated  character.  He  commanded  all  the  insurgents  of 
Anjou  and  the  banks  of  the  Loire.  M.  d'Elbee  had  also  been 
in  the  service,  and  united  to  excessive  devotion  a  persevering- 
disposition,  and  great  skill  in  that  sort  of  warfare.  He  was  at 
the  moment  the  most  popular  chief  in  that  part  of  the  Bocage. 
He  commanded  the  parishes  around  Ohollet  and  Bois-Preau. 
Cathelineau  and  Stomet  retained  their  commands,  earned  by 
the  confidence  which  they  inspired,  and  joined  MM.  de 
Bonchamps  and  d'Elbee,  for  the  purpose  of  marching  upon 
Bressuire,  where  General  Quetineau  then  was.  That  officer 
had  caused  the  Lescure  family  to  be  carried  off  from  the 
chateau  of  Clisson,  where  he  suspected  it  to  be  conspiring, 
and  confined  it  at  Bressuire.  Henri  de  Larochejaquelein,  a 
young  gentleman  formerly  belonging  to  the  King's  guard,  and 
now  living  in  retirement  in  the  Bocage,  happened  to  be  at 
Clisson,  with  his  cousin  de  Lescure.*  He  escaped,  and  raised 
the  Aubiers,  where  he  was  born,  and  all  the  parishes  around 
Chatillon.  He  afterwards  joined  the  other  chiefs,  and  with 
them  forced  General  Quetineau  to  retreat  from  Bressuire.  M. 
de  Lescure  was  then  set  at  liberty  with  his  family.  He  was  a 
young  man,  of  about  the  age  of  Henri  de  Larochejaquelein. f 
He  was  calm,  prudent,  possessing  a  cool  intrepidity  that 
nothing  could  shake,  and  to  these  qualities  he  added  a  rare 
spirit  of  justice.  Henri,  his  cousin,  had  heroic  and  frequently 
too  impetuous  bravery;  he  was  fiery  and  generous.  M.  de 
Lescure  now  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  peasantry,  who 
collected  around  him,  and  all  the  chiefs  joined  at  Bressuire, 
with  the  intention  of  inarching  upon  Thouars.  Their  ladies 
distributed  cockades  and  colours  ;  the  people  heightened  their 
enthusiasm  by  songs,  and  marched  as  to  a  crusade.  The  army 
was  not  encumbered  with  baggage ;  the  peasants,  who  would 
never  stay  long  away,  carried  with  them  the  bread  requisite 
for  each  expedition,  and  in  extraordinary  cases  the  parishes, 
on  being  apprized,  prepared  provisions  for  those  who  ran  short 
of  them.  The  army  was  composed  of  about  thirty  thousand 
men,  and  was  called  the  royal  and  Catholic  grand  army.  It 
faced  Angers,  Saumur,  Doue,  Thouars,  and  Parthenay.  Be- 
tween this  army  and  that  of  the  Marais,  commanded  hj 
Charette,  were  several  intermediate  assemblages,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which,  under  M.  de  Royrand,  might  amount  to  ten 
or  twelve  thousand  men. 

The  main  army,  commanded  by  MM.  de  Bonchamps,  d'Elbee, 
de    Lescure,  de   Larochejaquelein,    Cathelineau,    and    Stofnet, 

*  See  Appendix  HHHH.  t  See  Appendix  IIII. 


may  1/93        THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  313 

arrived  before  Thouars  on  the  3rd  of  May,  and  prepared  to 
attack  it  on  the  morning  of  the  4th.  It  was  necessary  to  cross 
the  Thoue,  which  almost  completely  surrounds  the  town  of 
Thouars.  General  Quetineau  ordered  the  passages  to  be  de- 
fended. The  Vendeans  kept  up  a  cannonade  for  some  time 
with  artillery  taken  from  the  republicans,  and  a  fire  of  musketry 
from  the  bank,  with  their  usual  success.  M.  de  Lescure  then 
resolved  to  attempt  the  passage,  and  advanced  amidst  the  balls. 
by  which  his  clothes  were  perforated,  but  could  induce  only  a 
single  peasant  to  follow  him.  Larochejaquelein  hastened  up, 
followed  by  his  people.  They  crossed  the  bridge,  and  the  re- 
publicans were  driven  back  into  the  town.  It  was  necessary 
to  make  a  breach  ;  but  this  they  had  not  the  means  of  effect- 
ing. Henri  de  Larochejaquelein,  hoisted  up  on  the  shoulders 
of  his  men,  had  nearly  reached  the  ramparts.  M.  d'Elbee  made 
a  vigorous  attack  on  his  side,  and  Quetineau,  unable  to  resist, 
consented  to  surrender  in  order  to  prevent  mischief  to  the 
town.  The  Vendeans,  owing  to  their  chiefs,  behaved  with 
moderation  ;  no  outrages  were  committed  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  conquerors  contented  themselves  with  burning 
the  tree  of  liberty  and  the  papers  of  the  administrations. 
General  Lescure  repaid  Quetineau  the  attentions  which  he 
had  received  from  him  during  his  detention  at  Bressuire,  and 
strove  to  persuade  him  to  stay  with  the  Yendean  army,  in  order 
to  escape  the  severity  of  the  government,  which,  regardless  of 
the  impossibility  of  resistance,  would  perhaps  punish  him  for 
having  surrendered.  Quetineau  generously  refused,  and  de- 
termined to  return  to  the  republicans  and  demand  a  trial.* 

These  tidings  from  La  Vendue,  concurring  with  those  from 
the  North,  where  Dampierre  was  receiving  checks  from  the 
Austrians  ;  with  those  from  the  Pyrenees,  where  the  Spaniards 

*  "  All  the  chief's  lodged  in  the  same  house  with  General  Quetineau.  Lescure, 
who  had  known  him  a  grenadier,  and  looked  on  him  as  a  man  of  honour,  took 
him  to  his  own  apartment,  and  said,  '  You  have  your  liberty,  Sir,  and  may  leave 
us  when  you  please  ;  but  I  would  advise  you  to  remain  with  us.  We  differ  in 
opinion,  therefore  we  shall  not  expect  you  to  light  for  us  ;  but  you  will  be  a 
prisoner  on  parole,  and  you  shall  lie  well  treated.  If  you  return  to  the  re- 
publicans, they  will  never  pardon  you  your  capitulation,  which  was,  however, 
unavoidable.  It  is  an  asylum  I  offer  you  from  their  vengeance.'  Quetineau 
replied,  '  I  shall  be  thought  a  traitor  if  I  go  with  you  ;  there  will  then  be  no 
doubt  that  I  betrayed  the  town,  although  I  only  advised  a  capitulation  at  the 
moment  it  was  taken  by  assault.  It  is  in  my  power  to  prove  that  I  did  my 
duty  ;  but  I  should  be  dishonoured  if  they  could  suppose  me  in  intelligence  with 
the  enemy.'  This  brave  man  continued'  inflexible  in  his  resolution,  although 
others  renewed,  but  in  vain,  the  proposals  M.  de  Lescure  had  made  him.  This 
sincerity  and  devotion  to  his  principles  acquired  him  the  esteem  of  all  our  chiefs. 
He  never  lowered  himself  by  any  supplication,  and  always  preserved  a  linn  and 
dignified  tone." — Memoirs  of  the  Marchioness  de  Larochejaquelein. 


314  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

assumed  a  threatening  position  ;  with  the  accounts  from  several 
provinces,  where  most  unfavourable  dispositions  were  mani- 
fested— these  tidings  excited  the  strongest  ferment.  Several 
departments  contiguous  to  La  Vendue,  on  learning  the  success 
of  the  insurgents,  conceived  themselves  authorized  to  send 
troops  to  oppose  them.  The  department  of  l'Herault  raised 
six  millions  in  money,  and  six  thousand  men,  and  sent  an 
address  to  the  people  of  Paris,  exhorting  them  to  do  the  same. 
The  Convention,  encouraging  this  enthusiasm,  approved  the 
conduct  of  the  department  of  l'Herault,  and  thereby  authorized 
all  the  communes  of  France  to  perform  acts  of  sovereignty  by 
raising  men  and  money. 

The  commune  of  Paris  did  not  remain  behindhand.  It 
declared  that  it  was  for  the  people  of  Paris  to  save  France, 
and  it  hastened  to  prove  its  zeal  and  to  exercise  its  authority 
by  raising  an  army.  It  immediately  resolved  that,  agreeably 
to  the  solemn  approbation  bestowed  by  the  Convention  on  the 
conduct  of  the  department  of  VHcrault,  an  army  of  twelve 
thousand  men  should  be  raised  in  the  city  of  Paris,  to  be  sent 
against  La  Vendue.  After  the  example  of  the  Convention,  the 
general  council  of  the  commune  appointed  commissioners  to 
accompany  this  army.  These  twelve  thousand  men  were  to 
be  taken  from  the  companies  of  the  armed  sections,  and  each 
company  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  was  to  furnish  four- 
teen. According  to  the  revolutionary  practice,  a  kind  of 
dictatorial  power  was  left  to  the  revolutionary  committee  of 
each  section,  to  point  out  those  whose  departure  would  be 
attended  with  the  least  inconvenience.  The  resolution  of  the 
commune  was  consecpiently  thus  formed :  All  the  unmarried 
clerks  in  all  the  public  offices  in  Paris,  excepting  the  chefs  and 
sous-chefs,  the  clerks  of  notaries  and  solicitors,  the  clerks  of 
bankers  and  merchants,  shopmen,  attendants  on  the  offices, 
&c,  .  .  .  shall  be  required  in  the  undermentioned  proportions  : 
out  of  two,  one  shall  go  ;  out  of  three,  two  ;  out  of  four,  two  ; 
out  of  five,  three  ;  out  of  six,  three  ;  out  of  seven,  four ;  out  of 
eight,  four;  and  so  on.  Such  clerks  of  public  offices  as  go, 
shall  retain  their  places  and  one-third  of  their  salary.  None 
shall  be  at  liberty  to  refuse  to  go.  The  citizens  required  shall 
inform  the  committee  of  their  section  what  they  need  for  their 
equipment,  and  it  shall  be  supplied  forthwith.  They  shall 
meet  immediately  afterwards  to  appoint  their  officers,  and 
thenceforth  obey  their  orders. 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  raise  an  army,  and  to  form  it  in 
such  a  violent  manner ;  it  was  necessary  also  to  provide  for 
the  expenses  of  its  maintenance,  and  to  this  end  it  was  agreed 


may  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  1  5 

to  apply  to  the  rich.  The  rich,  it  was  said,  would  not  do 
anything  for  the  defence  of  the  country  and  of  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  they  lived  in  happy  idleness,  and  left  the  people  to 
spill  their  blood  for  the  country  ;  it  was  right  to  make  them 
contribute  by  means  of  their  wealth  to  the  general  welfare. 
To  this  end  it  was  proposed  to  raise  a  forced  loan,  to  be 
furnished  by  the  citizens  of  Paris,  according  to  the  amount 
of  their  incomes.  From  an  income  of  one  thousand  francs 
to  fifty  thousand,  they  were  to  furnish  a  proportionate 
sum,  amounting  to  from  thirty  francs  to  twenty  thousand. 
All  those  who  had  above  fifty  thousand  francs  were  to  re- 
serve thirty  thousand  for  themselves,  and  to  give  up  all 
the  rest.  The  property,  movable  and  immovable,  of  those 
who  should  not  have  paid  this  patriotic  contribution  was  to 
be  seized  and  sold  at  the  requisition  of  the  revolutionary 
committees,  and  their  persons  were  to  be  considered  as 
suspicious. 

Such  measures,  which  would  reach  all  classes,  either  by 
laying  hold  of  persons,  to  oblige  them  to  take  arms,  or  of 
fortunes,  to  make  them  contribute,  could  not  fail  to  produce 
a  violent  resistance  in  the  sections.  We  have  already  seen 
that  there  were  dissensions  among  them,  and  that  they  were 
more  or  less  agitated,  according  to  the  proportion  of  the  low 
people  that  happened  to  be  among  them.  In  some,  and 
especially  in  the  Quinze-Vingts,  the  Gravilliers,  and  the 
llalle-au-Ble,  the  new  recruits  declared  that  they  would  not 
march  while  any  federalists  and  paid  troops  which  served,  it 
was  said,  as  body-guards  for  the  Convention,  should  remain 
in  Paris.  These  resisted  from  a  spirit  of  Jacobinism ;  but 
many  others  resisted  from  a  contrary  cause.  The  population 
of  clerks  and  shopmen  reappeared  in  the  sections  and  mani- 
fested a  strong  opposition  to  the  two  resolutions  of  the 
commune.  They  were  joined  by  the  old  servants  of  the 
fugitive  aristocracy,  who  contributed  greatly  to  agitate  Paris ; 
crowds  assembled  in  the  streets  and  in  the  public  places, 
shouting  Doiun  with  the  Jacobins  !  Down  with  the  Mountain  ! 
and  the  same  obstacles  which  the  revolutionary  system  had 
to  encounter  in  the  provinces  it  encountered  on  this  occasion 
in  Paris. 

There  was  then  one  general  outcry  against  the  aristocracy 
of  the  sections.  Marat  said  that  Messieurs  the  shopkeepers, 
tin-  solicitors,  the  clerks,  were  conspiring  with  Messieurs  of 
the  right  side  and  Messieurs  the  rich,  to  oppose  the  Revo- 
lution; that  they  ought  to  be  all  apprehended  as  suspicious 
persons,  and  reduced  to  the  class  of  saus-culottcs,  by  not  leaving 


3  1 6  HISTOB  Y  OF  may  i  79 3 

them  ivhcrcwith  to  cover  their  loins  (en  ne  pas  leur  laissant  de 
quoi  se  couvrir  le  derridre). 

Chaumette,  procureur  of  the  commune,  made  a  long  speech, 
in  which  he  deplored  the  wretched  state  of  the  country, 
arising,  he  said,  from  the  perfidy  of  the  governors,  the  selfish- 
ness of  the  opulent,  the  ignorance  of  the  people,  the  weariness 
and  disgust  of  many  of  the  citizens  for  the  public  cause.  He 
proposed,  therefore,  and  caused  a  resolution  to  be  passed, 
that  application  should  be  made  to  the  Convention  for  the 
means  of  public  instruction,  the  means  of  overcoming  the 
selfishness  of  the  rich,  and  relieving  the  poor  ;  that  there 
should  be  formed  an  assembly  composed  of  the  presidents  of 
the  revolutionary  committees  of  the  sections,  and  of  deputies 
from  all  the  administrative  bodies  ;  that  this  assembly  should 
meet  on  Sundays  and  Thursdays  at  the  commune  to  consider 
the  dangers  of  the  public  welfare  ;  that,  lastly,  all  good  citizens 
should  be  invited  to  attend  the  sectional  assemblies,  in  order 
to  give  patriotism  the  predominance  there. 

Danton,  ever  prompt  at  finding  resources  in  moments  of 
difficulty,  proposed  to  form  two  armies  of  sans-culottes.  One 
was  to  march  to  La  Vendee,  the  other  to  remain  in  Paris,  to 
curb  the  aristocracy  ;  to  pay  both  at  the  expense  of  the  rich ; 
and  lastly,  in  order  to  secure  a  majority  in  the  sections,  to 
pay  the  citizens  who  should  lose  their  time  in  attending  their 
meetings.  Robespierre,  borrowing  Danton's  ideas,  developed 
them  at  the  Jacobins,  and  further  proposed  to  form  new 
classes  of  suspicious  persons — not  to  confine  them,  as  before, 
to  the  ci-devant  nobles,  priests,  or  financiers,  but  to  include  all 
the  citizens  who  should  in  any  way  have  exhibited  proofs  of 
disaffection  to  the  public  welfare  ;  to  confine  them  till  the 
peace  ;  to  accelerate  the  action  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal ; 
and  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  bad  newspapers  by  new 
means  of  communication.  With  all  these  resources,  he  said, 
they  might  be  able,  without  any  illegal  means,  without  any 
violation  of  the  laws,  to  withstand  the  other  party  and  its 
machinations. 

All  these  ideas  were  directed,  then,  towards  one  end — to 
arm  the  populace ;  to  keep  one  part  of  it  at  home,  and  to 
send  another  away  ;  to  arm  it  at  the  expense  of  the  rich, 
and  to  make  it  even  attend  all  the  deliberative  assemblies 
at  their  expense  ;  to  confine  all  the  enemies  of  the  Revolution 
under  the  denomination  of  suspicious  persons,  much  more 
largely  defined  than  it  had  ever  yet  been ;  to  establish  a 
medium  of  correspondence  between  the  commune  and  the 
sections,   and  for  this  purpose  to  create  a  new  revolutionary 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  317 

assembly  which  should  resort  to  new  means,  that  is  to  say. 
insurrection.  The  assembly  of  the  Eveche,  previously  dis- 
solved, but  now  revived,  on  the  proposal  of  Chaumette,  and 
with  a  much  more  imposing  character,  was  evidently  destined 
to  this  end. 

From  the  8th  to  the  10th  of  May  one  alarming-  piece  of 
intelligence  succeeded  another.  In  the  army  of  the  North, 
Dampierre  had  been  killed.  In  the  interior  the  provinces 
continued  to  revolt.  All  Normandy  seemed  ready  to  join 
Bretagne.  The  insurgents  of  La  Vendue  had  advanced  from 
Thouars  to  Loudun  and  Montreuil,  taken  those  two  towns, 
and  thus  almost  reached  the  banks  of  the  Loire.  The  English, 
landing  on  the  coasts  of  Bretagne,  were  come,  it  was  said, 
to  join  them,  and  to  attack  the  very  heart  of  the  republic. 
The  citizens  of  Bordeaux,  indignant  at  the  treatment  experi- 
enced by  their  deputies,  had  assumed  the  most  threatening 
attitude,  and  disarmed  a  section  to  which  the  Jacobins  had 
retired.  At  Marseilles  the  sections  were  in  full  insurrection. 
Disgusted  by  the  outrages  committed  upon  the  pretext  of 
disarming  suspected  persons,  they  had  met,  turned  out  the 
commune,  transferred  its  powers  to  a  committee  called  the 
central  committee  of  the  sections,  and  instituted  a  popular 
tribunal  to  prosecute  the  authors  of  the  murders  and  pillages. 
After  taking  these  measures  in  their  own  city,  they  had  sent 
deputies  to  the  sections  of  the  city  of  Aix,  and  were  striving 
to  propagate  their  example  throughout  the  whole  department. 
Not  sparing  even  the  commissioners  of  the  Convention,  they 
had  seized  their  papers,  and  insisted  on  their  retiring.  At 
Lyons,  too,  there  were  serious  disturbances.  The  adminis- 
trative bodies,  united  with  the  Jacobins,  having  ordered, 
in  imitation  of  Paris,  a  levy  of  six  millions  in  money  and  six 
thousand  men.  having  moreover  attempted  to  carry  into  effect 
the  disarming  of  suspected  persons,  and  to  institute  a  revolu- 
tionary tribunal,  the  sections  had  revolted,  and  were  on  the 
point  of  coming  to  blows  with  the  commune.  Thus,  while 
the  enemy  was  advancing  on  the  North,  insurrection,  Betting 
out  from  Bretagne  and  La  Vendee,  and  supported  by  the 
English,  was  likely  to  make  the  tour  of  France  by  Bordeaux, 
I  «'ouen,  Nantes,  Marseilles,  and  Lyons.*     These  tidings,  arriving 

*  "Bordeaux,  Marseilles,  Toulon,  and  Lyons  had  declared  themselves  against 
the  Jacobin  supremacy.  Rich  from  commerce  and  their  maritime  situation,  and 
in  the  case  of  Lyons,  from  their  command  of  internal  navigation,  the  wealthy 
merchants  and  manufacturers  of  those  cities  foresaw  the  total  insecurity  of  pro- 
perty, ami  in  consequence,  their  own  ruin,  in  the  system  of  arbitrary  spoliation 
and  murder  upon  which  the  government  of  the  Jacobins  was  founded." — Scott's 
Life  of  Napoleon. 


318  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

one  after  another,  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  days,  between 
the  1 2th  and  15  th  of  May,  excited  the  most  gloomy  fore- 
bodings in  the  minds  of  the  Mountaineers  and  the  Jacobins. 
The  measures  already  proposed  were  again  urged  with  still 
greater  vehemence :  they  insisted  that  all  the  waiters  at 
taverns  and  coffee-houses,  and  all  domestic  servants,  should 
set  off  immediately;  that  the  popular  societies  should  march 
in  a  body ;  that  commissioners  of  the  Assembly  should  repair 
forthwith  to  the  sections  to  compel  them  to  furnish  their 
contingents ;  that  thirty  thousand  men  should  be  sent  off  by 
post  in  carriages  kept  for  luxury ;  that  the  rich  should  con- 
tribute without  delay,  and  give  a  tenth  of  their  fortune ;  that 
suspicious  persons  should  be  imprisoned  and  kept  as  hostages  ; 
that  the  conduct  of  the  ministers  should  be  investigated ; 
that  the  committee  of  public  welfare  should  be  directed  to 
draw  up  an  address  to  the  citizens  whose  opinion  had  been 
led  astray ;  that  all  civil  business  should  be  laid  aside  ;  that 
the  activity  of  the  civil  tribunals  should  be  suspended  ;  that 
the  theatres  should  be  closed ;  that  the  tocsin  should  be 
sounded  and  the  alarm-gun  fired. 

In  order  to  infuse  some  assurance  amidst  this  general 
consternation,  Danton  made  two  remarks :  the  first  was,  that 
the  fear  of  stripping  Paris  of  the  good  citizens  who  were 
necessary  for  its  safety  ought  not  to  prevent  the  recruiting, 
since  there  would  still  be  left  in  Paris  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  men,  ready  to  rise  and  to  exterminate  the 
aristocrats  who  should  dare  to  show  themselves  ;  the  second 
was,  that  the  agitation  of  civil  war,  instead  of  being  a  subject 
of  hope,  must  on  the  contrary  be  a  subject  of  terror  to  the 
foreign  enemy.  "Montesquieu,"  said  he,  "  has  already  remarked, 
with  reference  to  the  Romans,  that  a  people  all  whose  hands 
are  armed  and  exercised,  all  whose  souls  are  inured  to  war, 
all  whose  minds  are  excited,  all  whose  passions  are  changed 
into  a  mania  for  fighting — such  a  people  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  cold  and  mercenary  courage  of  foreign  soldiers.  The 
weaker  of  the  two  parties  arrayed  against  each  other  by  civil 
war  would  always  be  strong  enough  to  destroy  the  puppets  in 
whom  discipline  cannot  supply  the  place  of  life  and  fire." 

It  was  immediately  ordered  that  ninety-six  commissioners 
should  repair  to  the  sections,  in  order  to  obtain  their  contin- 
gents, and  that  the  committee  of  public  welfare  should  continue 
its  functions  for  another  month.  Custine  was  appointed  general 
of  the  army  of  the  North,  and  Houchard  *  of  the  army  of  the 

*  See  Appendix  JJJJ. 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  1 9 

Rhine.  The  distribution  of  the  armies  around  the  frontiers 
was  fixed.  Cambon  presented  a  plan  for  a  forced  loan  of  one 
thousand  millions,  which  should  be  furnished  by  the  rich,  and 
for  which  the  property  of  the  emigrants  should  be  pledged. 
"It  is  one  way,"  said  he,  "  of  obliging  the  rich  to  take  part  in 
the  Revolution,  by  forcing  them  to  purchase  a  portion  of  the 
national  domains  if  they  wish  to  pay  themselves  for  their  credit 
upon  the  pledge  itself." 

The  commune,  on  its  part,  resolved  that  a  second  army  of 
sons-culottes  should  be  raised  in  Paris  to  awe  the  aristocracy, 
while  the  first  should  march  against  the  rebels  ;  that  a  general 
imprisonment  of  all  suspected  persons  should  take  place  ;  and 
that  the  central  assembly  of  the  sections,  composed  of  the 
administrative  authorities,  of  the  presidents  of  the  sections,  of 
the  members  of  the  revolutionary  committees,  should  meet  as 
soon  as  possible,  to  make  the  assessment  of  the  forced  loan,  and 
to  draw  up  the  lists  of  suspected  persons. 

Discord  was  now  at  its  height.     On  the  one  hand,  it  was 
alleged  that  the  aristocrats   abroad  and  those  at  home  were 
leagued    together;    that   the    conspirators    of    Marseilles,    La 
Vendee,  and  Normandy  acted  in  concert ;  that  the  members 
of  the  right  side  directed  that  vast  conspiracy ;  and  that  the 
tumult  of  the  sections  was  but  the  result  of  their  intrigues  in 
I  'avis  :   on  the  other,  all  the   excesses  committed  in  all  parts 
were  attributed  to  the  Mountain,   to  which  was    imputed    a 
design  to  convulse   France,   and   to    murder   the   twenty-two 
deputies.     On    both    sides,    people    asked   how  they    were   to 
extricate  themselves  from  this  peril,  and  what  was  to  be  done 
to  save  the  republic.     The  members  of  the  right  side  mustered 
their  courage,  and  advised  some  act  of  extraordinary  energy. 
( Vrtain  sections,  such  as  those  of  the  Mail  and  the  Buttes-des- 
Mnulins,  and  several  others,  strongly  supported  them,  and  re- 
fused to  send  commissioners  to  the  central  assembly  formed 
at  the  mairie.     They  refused  to  subscribe  to  the  forced  loan, 
saying  that  they  would  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
own  volunteers,  and  opposed  the  new  list  of  suspected  persons, 
alleging  that  their  own  revolutionary  committee  was  adequate 
to  the  superintendence  of  the  police  within  its  own  jurisdiction. 
The  Mountaineers,  the  Jacobins,  the  Cordeliers,  the  members 
of  the  commune,  on  the  contrary,   cried  treason,  and  every- 
where  repeated  that  things  must  be  brought  to  a  point,  ami 
that  it   behoved  them   to   unite,    and    to   take    measures    for 
saving  the  republic   from   the   conspiracy  of   the  twenty-two. 
At  the  Cordeliers  it  was  said   openly  that  they  ought  1<>   be 
seized    and    put    to    death.       In    an    assembly    composed    of 


320  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

furious  women  it  was  proposed  to  take  occasion  of  the  first 
tumult  in  the  Convention,  and  to  despatch  them.  These 
furies  carried  daggers,  made  a  great  noise  every  day  in  the 
tribunes,  and  declared  that  they  would  themselves  save  the 
republic.  The  number  of  these  daggers  was  everywhere 
talked  of ;  a  single  cutler  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  had 
made  several  hundred.  People  belonging  to  both  parties 
went  armed,  and  carried  about  them  all  the  means  of  attack 
and  defence.  There  was  as  yet  no  decided  plot ;  but  the 
passions  were  in  that  state  of  excitement  at  which  the 
slightest  occurrence  is  sufficient  to  produce  an  explosion.  At 
the  Jacobins  measures  of  all  sorts  were  proposed.  It  was 
alleged  that  the  acts  of  accusation  directed  by  the  commune 
against  the  twenty-two  did  not  prevent  them  from  retaining 
their  seats,  and  that  consequently  an  act  of  popular  energy 
was  required ;  that  the  citizens  destined  for  La  Vendue  ought 
not  to  depart  before  they  had  saved  the  country ;  that  the 
people  had  the  power  to  save  it,  but  that  it  was  necessary  to 
point  out  to  them  the  means,  and  that  to  this  end  a  committee 
of  five  members  ought  to  be  appointed,  and  allowed  by  the 
society  to  have  secrets  of  its  own.  Others  replied,  that  there 
was  no  occasion  for  reserve  in  the  society,  that  it  was  useless 
to  pretend  to  conceal  anything,  and  that  it  was  high  time  to 
act  openly.  Robespierre,  who  deemed  these  declarations  im- 
prudent, opposed  illegal  means,  and  asked  if  they  had  ex- 
hausted all  the  useful  and  safer  means  which  he  had  proposed. 
"Have  you  organized  your  revolutionary  army?  "-said  he. 
"  Have  you  done  what  is  needful  for  paying  the  sans-culottes 
called  to  arms,  or  sitting  in  the  sections  ?  Have  you  secured 
the  suspected  ?  Have  you  covered  your  public  places  with 
forges  and  workshops  ?  You  have,  then,  employed  none  of  the 
judicious  and  natural  measures  which  would  not  compromise 
the  patriots ;  and  you  suffer  men  who  know  nothing  about 
the  public  welfare  to  propose  measures  which  are  the  cause  of 
all  the  calumnies  poured  forth  against  you !  It  is  not  till 
you  have  tried  all  the  legal  means  that  you  ought  to  recur 
to  violent  means ;  and  even  then  it  is  not  right  to  propose 
them  in  a  society  which  ought  to  be  discreet  and  politic.  I 
am  aware,"  added  Robespierre,  "that  I  shall  be  accused  of 
moderation;  but  I  am  too  well  known  to  be  afraid  of  such 
imputations." 

In  this  instance,  as  before  the  10th  of  August,  people  felt 
the  necessity  of  adopting  a  course  ;  they  roved  from  scheme  to 
scheme  ;  they  called  for  a  meeting  wherein  they  might  come 
to  an  understanding  with  one  another.     The  assembly  of  the 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  2  1 

mairie  had  been  formed,  but  the  department  was  not  present 
at  it ;  only  one  of  its  members,  the  Jacobin  Dufournay,  had 
attended  ;  several  sections  kept  away  ;  the  mayor  had  not  yet 
appeared,  and  it  had  adjourned  the  consideration  of  the  object 
of  the  meeting  to  Sunday,  the  19th  of  May.  Though  this 
object,  as  fixed  by  the  resolution  of  the  commune,  was  ap- 
parently very  limited,  yet  the  same  language  had  been  held 
in  that  assembly  as  everywhere  else,  and  it  admitted  there, 
as  in  all  other  places,  that  a  new  10th  of  August  was  wanted. 
Nothing  more  had  been  ventured  upon,  however,  than  foul 
language  and  club  exaggerations :  women  had  attended  along 
with  the  men,  and  this  tumultuous  assemblage  displayed  only 
the  same  licentiousness  of  spirit  and  language  as  all  the  other 
public  meetings  exhibited. 

The  15th,  1 6th,  and   17th  of  May  passed  in  agitation,  and 
everything  was  made  an  occasion  of  quarrel  and  uproar  in  the 
Assembly.     The  people  of  Bordeaux  sent  an  address,  in  which 
they   announced    their   intention    of    rising   to    support    their 
deputies.      They  declared    that    one    portion   of   them  would 
march  to  La  Vendee  to  fight  the  rebels,  while  the  other  would 
march  to  Paris  to  exterminate  the  anarchists  who  should  dare 
to  offer  violence  to  the  national  representation.     A  letter  from 
Marseilles  intimated  that  the  sections  of  that  city  persisted  in 
their  opposition.     A  petition  from   Lyons  claimed  relief  for 
fifteen  hundred  prisoners,  confined  as  suspected  persons,  and 
threatened  with  the  revolutionary  tribunal  by  Ohalier  and  the 
•Jacobins.     These  petitions  excited  a  tremendous  tumult.     In 
the  Assembly,  as  in  the  tribunes,  the  parties  seemed  on  the  point 
of  coming  to  blows.     Meanwhile  the  right  side,  roused  by  the 
danger,  communicated  its  courage  to  the   Plain,  and  a  great 
majority  decreed  that  the  petition  of  the  Bordelais  was  a  model 
of  patriotism,  annulled  every  revolutionary  tribunal  erected  by 
tin'   local   authorities,  and   authorized  the  citizens  whom    any 
attempt  should  be  made  to  bring  before  it,  to  repel  force  by 
force.     These  decisions  kindled  at  once  the  indignation  of  the 
Mountain   and  the   courage  of   the    right    side.      On    the    18th 
1  In'  irritation  had  attained  the  highest  pitch.     The  Mountain, 
deprived  of  a  great  number  of  its  members  sent  as  commis- 
sioners into   the   departments    and  to  the    armies,   cried   out 
against  oppression,      (luadet   immediately  solicited   permission 
to  speak,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  historical  application 
to  present  circumstances,  and  he  seemed  to  foretell  in  a  fearful 
manner  1  he  destiny  of  the  parties.     "In  England,"  said  he, 
"when  a  generous  majority  endeavoured  to  oppose  the  fury  of 
a  factious  minority,  that  minority  cried  out  against  oppression, 
vol,.  11.  I!> 


322  HISTOR  Y  OF  may  1793 

and  succeeded  by  means  of  that  cry  in  oppressing  the  majority 
itself.  It  called  around  it  the  patriots  par  excellence.  Such 
was  the  appellation  assumed  by  a  misled  multitude,  to  which 
it  promised  pillage  and  a  division  of  lands.  This  continued 
appeal  to  the  patriots  par  excellence  against  the  oppression 
of  the  majority  led  to  the  proceeding  known  by  the  name 
of  the  "purgation  of  the  parliament  —  a  proceeding  in  which 
Pride,  who  from  a  butcher  had  become  a  colonel,  was  the  chief 
actor.  One  hundred  and  fifty  members  were  expelled  from 
the  parliament-house,  and  the  minority,  consisting  of  fifty  or 
sixty  members,  were  left  masters  of  the  State.  What  was  the 
result?  These  patriots  par  excellence,  tools  of  Cromwell,  and 
whom  he  led  to  the  commission  of  folly  after  folly,  were  ex- 
pelled in  their  turn.  Their  own  crimes  served  as  a  pretext  to 
the  usurper." 

Here  Guadet,  pointing  to  Legendre,  the  butcher,  Danton, 
Lacroix,  and  all  the  other  deputies  accused  of  dissolute 
manners  and  peculations,  thus  proceeded  :  "  Cromwell  went 
one  day  to  the  parliament-house,  and  addressing  these  same 
members,  who  alone,  according  to  their  own  assertions,  were 
capable  of  saving  the  country,  he  bade  them  begone,  saying 
to  one,  Thou  art  a  robber  ;  to  another,  Thou  art  a  drunkard  ; 
to  this,  Thou  hast  fattened  upon  the  public  money  ;  to  that, 
Thou  art  a  whoremaster  and  frequentest  places  of  bad  repute. 
Begone,  then,  all  of  you,  and  give  place  to  godly  men.  They 
did  give  place,  and  Cromwell  took  it." 

This  striking  and  terrible  allusion  made  a  profound  im- 
pression upon  the  Assembly,  which  remained  silent.  Guadet 
proceeded,  and  in  order  to  prevent  such  a  purgation,  proposed 
various  measures  of  police,  which  the  Assembly  adopted  amidst 
murmurs.  But  while  he  was  returning  to  his  seat  a  scan- 
dalous scene  took  place  in  the  tribunes.  A  woman  had  laid 
hold  of  a  man  for  the  purpose  of  turning  him  out  of  the 
hall ;  she  was  seconded  on  all  sides,  and  the  poor  fellow,  who 
struggled  hard,  was  on  the  point  of  being  attacked  by  the 
whole  population  of  the  tribunes.  The  guard  strove  in  vain 
to  restore  tranquillity.  Marat  exclaimed  that  this  man  whom 
they  wanted  to  turn  out  was  an  aristocrat.  The  Assembly 
was  indignant  against  Marat,  because  he  increased  the  un- 
fortunate man's  danger,  and  exposed  him  to  the  risk  of 
assassination.  He  replied  that  he  should  not  be  easy  till 
they  were  delivered  from  aristocrats,  accomplices  of  Dumou- 
riez,  statesmen,  ...  so  he  called  the  members  of  the  right 
side  on  account  of  their  reputation  for  abilities. 

Isnard,  the  president,  took  off  his  hat,  and  said  that  he  had 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  £  E  VOL  UTION.  323 

an  important  communication  to  make.  The  Assembly  listened 
in  profound  silence.  In  a  tone  of  the  deepest  grief,  he  said, 
"A  plan  devised  in  England,  with  which  it  is  my  duty  to 
acquaint  you,  has  been  revealed  to  me.  It  is  the  object  of 
Pitt  to  arm  one  point  of  the  people  against  the  other,  by 
urging  it  to  insurrection.  This  insurrection  is  to  be  com- 
menced by  women ;  they  will  attack  several  deputies,  murder 
them,  dissolve  the  National  Convention,  and  this  moment  will 
be  chosen  to  effect  a  landing  upon  our  coasts.  Such,"  concluded 
Isnard,  '•  is  the  declaration  which  I  owe  to  my  country." 

The  majority  applauded  Isnard.  His  communication  was 
ordered  to  be  printed  ;  it  was  again  decreed  that  the  deputies 
should  not  separate,  and  that  they  should  share  all  dangers  in 
common.  Some  explanation  was  then  given  respecting  the 
disturbances  in  the  tribunes.  It  was  said  that  the  women 
who  made  them  belonged  to  a  society  called  The  Fraternity, 
that  they  came  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  the  hall,  exclud- 
ing strangers  and  the  federalists  of  the  departments  from  it, 
and  interrupting  the  deliberations  by  their  hootings.  Marat, 
who  had  kept  pacing  the  corridors,  passing  from  one  bench  in 
the  hall  to  another,  and  talking  of  statesmen,  pointed  to  one 
of  the  members  of  the  right  side,  saying,  "  Thou  art  one 
of  them — yes,  thou ;  but  the  people  will  do  justice  on  thee 
and  the  rest."  Guadet  then  rushed  to  the  tribune,  to  provoke 
amidst  this  danger  a  courageous  determination.  He  dwelt  on 
all  the  commotions  of  which  Paris  was  the  theatre,  the  ex- 
pressions used  in  the  popular  assemblies,  the  horrid  language 
held  at  the  Jacobins,  the  plans  brought  forward  in  the  assembly 
which  met  at  the  mairie  :  he  declared  that  the  tumults  which 
they  witnessed  had  no  other  design  than  to  bring  about  a 
scene  of  confusion,  amidst  which  the  meditated  murders  were 
to  be  executed.  Interrupted  every  moment,  he  nevertheless 
contrived  to  make  himself  heard  till  he  had  linished,  and 
proposed  two  measures  of  heroic  but  impracticable  energy. 

"The  evil  lies,"  said  he,  "in  the  anarchical  authorities  of 
]  'aris  :  I  propose  to  you,  then,  to  cashier  them,  and  to  replace 
them  by  all  the  presidents  of  sections. 

"  The  Convention  being  no  longer  free,  it  is  requisite  that 
another  assembly  be  convoked  in  some  other  place,  and  that 
a  decree  be  passed  directing  all  the  new  deputies  to  meet  at 
Pourges,  and  to  be  ready  to  constitute  themselves  there  in 
convention,  at  the  first  signal  that  you  shall  give  them,  or 
on  the  first  intimation  they  shall  receive  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  Convention." 

Al    this   twofold   proposition  a  tremendous  uproar   ensued 


324  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

in  the  Assembly.  All  the  members  of  the  right  side  rose, 
crying  out  that  this  was  the  only  medium  of  safety,  and  seem- 
ingly grateful  to  the  bold  genius  of  Guadet  which  had  devised 
it.  The  left  side  also  rose,  threatened  its  adversaries,  cried 
out,  in  its  turn,  that  the  conspiracy  was  at  length  discovered, 
that  the  conspirators  were  unmasked,  and  that  their  designs 
against  the  unity  of  the  republic  were  avowed.  Danton  would 
have  ascended  the  tribune,  but  he  was  stopped ;  and  Barrere 
was  permitted  to  occupy  it  in  the  name  of  the  committee  of 
public  welfare. 

Barrere,  with  his  insinuating  address,  and  his  conciliatory 
tone,   said  that  if  he  had   been  allowed  to   speak,   he  could 
several  days  before  have  revealed  many  facts  respecting  the 
state  of   France.     He   then  stated  that  a  plan  for  dissolving 
the   Convention    was    everywhere    talked   of ;    that   the  presi- 
dent of  the  section  had  heard  Chaumette,  the  procureur,  use 
language   which  seemed    to  indicate  that  intention ;    that   at 
the  Eveche\  and  at  another  assembly  held  at  the  mairie,  the 
same  question  had   been  brought  forward  ;  that,  in   order  to 
effect  this  object,  the  scheme  was  to  excite  a  tumult,  to  em- 
ploy women  to   raise  it,  and  to  take  the  lives  of  thirty-two 
deputies    under    favour    of   the    disturbance.      Barrere   added 
that  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs  and  the  minister  of  the 
interior  must  be  in  possession  of  information  on  the  subject, 
and  that  it  would  be  right  to  hear  what  they  had  to  say. 
Then  adverting  to  the  proposed  measures,  he  added  that  he 
was  of  the  same  opinion  as  Guadet  respecting  the  authorities 
of  Paris ;    he   found  a  feeble  department,   sections  acting  as 
sovereigns,  a  commune  instigated  to  all  sorts  of  excesses  by 
Chaumette,  its  procureitr,  formerly  a  monk,  and  a  suspicious 
character,   like   all  the  ci-devant  priests   and   nobles ;  but  he 
thought  that  the  cashiering  of  these  authorities   would  pro- 
duce  an   anarchical   uproar.     As   for  the  assemblage  of   new 
representatives  at  Bourges,  that  could  not  save  the  Conven- 
tion, or  furnish  a  substitute  for  it.     There  was,  he  conceived, 
a  way  to  ward  off  the  real  dangers  which   surrounded  them 
without  plunging   into   too    great   inconveniences ;   this    was, 
to  appoint  a  commission  of  twelve  members,   empowered  to 
verify  the  acts  of  the  commune  during  the  last  month  ;  to 
investigate    the  plots    hatched   within  the    republic,   and  the 
designs  formed  against  the  national  representation ;  to  collect 
from  all  the  committees,  from  all  the  ministers,  from  all  the 
authorities,  such  information  as  it  should  need  ;  and  lastly,  be 
authorized  to  dispose  of  all  the  means  requisite  for  securing 
the  persons  of  the  conspirators. 


may  1 7  9  3        THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  JIT  ION.  3  2  5 

The  first  ebullition  of  enthusiasm  and  courage  over,  the 
majority  eagerly  adopted  this  conciliatory  scheme  of  Barrere. 
Nothing  was  more  common  than  to  appoint  commissions  ;  on 
every  occurrence,  on  every  danger,  for  every  want,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  attend  to  it ;  and  the  moment  the 
individuals  were  nominated  to  carry  anything  into  execution, 
the  Assembly  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that  the  thing 
was  executed,  and  that,  for  its  sake,  committees  would  have 
courage,  or  intelligence,  or  energy.  This  last  was  not  likely 
to  be  deficient  in  energy,  and  it  was  composed  of  deputies 
almost  all  belonging  to  the  right  side.  It  included,  among 
others,  Boyer  -  Fonf rede,  Rabaut  St.  Etienne,  Kervelegan, 
Henri  Lariviere,*  all  members  of  La  Gironde.  But  the  very 
energy  of  this  committee  was  fated  to  prove  baneful  to  it. 
Instituted  for  the  purpose  of  screening  the  Convention  from 
the  movements  of  the  Jacobins,  it  served  only  to  excite  them 
still  more,  and  to  increase  the  danger  which  it  was  designed 
to  dispel.  The  Jacobins  had  threatened  the  Girondins  by 
their  daily  cries ;  the  Girondins  replied  to  the  threat  by  in- 
stituting a  commission  ;  and  this  menace  the  Jacobins  finally 
answered  by  a  fatal  stroke,  that  of  the  31st  of  May  and  the 
2nd  of  June. 

No  sooner  was  this  commission  appointed  than  the  popular 
societies  raised  an  outcry,  as  usual,  against  the  inquisition 
and  martial  law.  The  assembly  at  the  mairie,  adjourned  to 
Sunday,  the  19th,  accordingly  met,  and  was  more  numerous 
than  in  the  preceding  sittings.  The  mayor,  however,  was  not 
there,  and  an  administrator  of  police  presided.  Some  sections 
did  not  attend,  and  there  were  not  more  than  thirty -five 
which  had  sent  their  representatives.  The  assembly  called 
itself  the  Central  Revolutionary  Committee.  It  was  agreed  at 
the  outset  to  commit  nothing  to  writing,  to  keep  no  minutes, 
and  to  prevent  every  one  who  wished  to  retire  from  departing 
before  the  sitting  was  over.  The  next  point  was  to  fix  upon 
the  subjects  of  their  future  deliberations.  Their  real  and 
avowed  object  was  the  loan  and  the  list  of  suspected  persons ; 
nevertheless  the  very  first  words  began  with  stating  that  the 
patriots  of  the  Convention  had  not  the  power  to  save  the 
commonwealth  ;  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  amends  for 
their  impotence,  and  for  tliis  purpose  to  search  after  suspected 
persons,  whether  in  the  administrations,  in  the  sections,  or  in 
the  Convention  itself,  and  to  secure  them  for  the  purpose  of 
putting   it    out  of   their   power  to    do  further   mischief.      A 

*  See  Appendix  KKKK. 


326  HIS  TOE  Y  OF  may  1793 

member,  speaking  coldly  and  slowly,  said  that  he  knew  of  no 
suspected  persons  but  in  the  Convention,  and  it  was  there 
that  the  blow  ought  to  be  struck.  He  therefore  proposed  a 
very  simple  method,  namely,  to  seize  the  twenty-two  deputies, 
to  convey  them  to  a  house  in  the  faubourgs,  to  put  them  to 
death,  and  to  forge  letters  to  induce  a  belief  that  they  had 
emigrated.  "We  will  not  do  this  ourselves,"  added  this  man  ; 
"  but  with  money  it  will  be  easy  for  us  to  find  executioners." 
Another  member  immediately  replied  that  this  measure  was 
impracticable,  and  that  it  would  be  right  to  wait  till  Marat  and 
Robespierre  had  proposed  at  the  Jacobins  their  means  of  in- 
surrection, which  would  110  doubt  be  preferable.  "  Silence  !  " 
cried  several  voices,  "  no  names  must  be  mentioned."  A  third 
member,  a  deputy  of  the  section  in  1792,  represented  that 
it  was  wrong  to  commit  murder,  and  that  there  were  tribunals 
for  trying  the  enemies  of  the  Revolution.  On  this  observa- 
tion a  great  tumult  arose.  The  doctrine  of  the  person  who 
had  just  spoken  was  condemned  ;  it  was  said  that  such  men 
onlv  as  could  raise  themselves  to  a  level  with  circumstances 
ought  to  be  tolerated,  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  every  one 
to  denounce  his  neighbour  if  he  suspected  his  energy.  The 
person  who  had  presumed  to  talk  of  laws  and  tribunals  was 
forthwith  expelled  from  the  assembly.  It  was  perceived 
at  the  same  time  that  a  member  of  the  section  of  La 
Fraternite,  a  section  very  unfavourably  disposed  towards  the 
Jacobins,  was  taking  notes,  and  he  was  turned  out  like  the 
other.  The  assembly  continued  to  deliberate  in  the  same 
tone  on  the  proscription  of  the  deputies,  on  the  place  to  be 
selected  for  this  Septembrization,  and  for  the  imprisonment  of 
the  other  suspected  persons,  whether  of  the  commune  or  of 
the  sections.  A  member  proposed  that  the  execution  should 
take  place  that  very  night.  He  was  told  that  it  was  not  pos- 
sible ;  on  which  he  replied  that  there  were  men  in  readiness, 
adding  that  Coligny  was  at  Court  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night, 
and  dead  at  one. 

Meanwhile  time  passed  away,  and  the  consideration  of  these 
various  subjects  was  deferred  till  the  following  day.  It  was 
agreed  that  they  should  confine  themselves  to  three  points  : 
(1)  the  seizure  of  the  deputies ;  (2)  the  list  of  suspected 
persons  ;  (3)  the  purification  of  the  public  offices  and  com- 
mittees. The  meeting  adjourned  till  six  in  the  evening  of 
the  next  day. 

Accordingly,  on  Monday,  the  20th,  the  assembly  again  met. 
This  time  Pache  was  present.  Several  lists,  containing  names 
of  all  sorts,  were   handed  to  him.     He  observed  that  it  was 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  327 

wrong  to  give  them  any  other  designation  than  lists  of 
suspected  persons,  which  was  legal,  since  those  lists  had  been 
ordered.  Some  members  observed  that  they  ought  to  take 
care,  lest  the  handwriting  of  any  member  should  be  known, 
and  that  it  would  be  well  to  have  fresh  copies  made  of  the 
lists.  Others  said  that  republicans  ought  not  to  be  afraid  of 
anything.  Pache  added  that  he  cared  not  who  knew  that  he 
was  furnished  with  these  lists,  for  they  concerned  the  police 
of  Paris,  which  was  under  his  superintendence.  The  subtle 
and  reserved  character  of  Pache  was  duly  sustained  ;  and  he 
was  desirous  of  bringing  all  that  was  required  of  him  within 
the  limits  of  the  law  and  of  his  functions. 

A  member,  noticing  these  precautions,  then  said  that  he 
was  no  doubt  unacquainted  with  what  had  passed  in  the 
sitting  of  the  preceding  day,  and  with  the  order  of  the 
questions,  which  it  was  right  to  apprize  him  of ;  and  that 
the  first  related  to  the  seizure  of  twenty-two  deputies.  Pache 
observed  that  the  persons  of  the  deputies  were  under  the  safe- 
guard of  the  city  of  Paris ;  that  any  attempt  upon  their  lives 
would  compromise  the  capital  with  the  departments,  and 
provoke  a  civil  war.  He  was  then  asked  how  it  happened 
that  he  had  signed  the  petition  presented  on  the  1 5th  of 
April  in  the  name  of  the  forty-eight  sections  of  Paris  against 
the  twenty- two.  Pache  replied  that  he  then  did  his  duty  in 
signing  a  petition  which  he  had  been  instructed  to  present ; 
but  that  the  question  now  proposed  was  not  comprehended 
in  the  powers  of  the  assembly  there  met  to  consider  the  loan 
and  suspected  persons,  and  that  he  should  be  obliged  to  put 
an  end  to  the  sitting  if  such  discussions  were  persisted  in. 
On  these  observations  a  great  uproar  ensued ;  and  as  nothing- 
could  be  done  in  the  presence  of  Pache,  and  the  assembly  did 
not  choose  to  confine  its  attention  to  the  mere  lists  of  suspected 
persons,  it  adjourned  sine  die. 

On  Tuesday,  the  21st,  there  were  only  about  a  dozen  mem- 
bers present.  Some  would  no  longer  attend  the  meetings  of 
so  tumultuous  and  so  violent  an  assembly  ;  others  thought  that 
it  was  not  possible  to  deliberate  there  with  sufficient  energy. 

It  was  at  the  Cordeliers  that  all  the  fury  of  the  conspirators 
vented  itself  on  the  following  day.  Women  as  well  as  men 
uttered  horrible  threats.  It  was  a  prompt  insurrection  that 
they  required;  and  not  content  with  ;i  sacrifice  of  twenty- 
two  deputies,  they  insisted  ou  that  of  three  hundred.  A 
woman,  speaking  with  all  the  vehemence  of  her  sex,  proposed 
to  assemble  all  the  citizens  in  the  Place  de  la  Reunion,  In  go 
in  a  body  to  present  a  petition  to  the  Convention,  and  no1  to 


3  2  8  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  may  1793 

stir  till  they  had  wrung  from  it  the  decrees  indispensable  for 
the  public  welfare.  Young  Varlet,  who  had  long  been  con- 
spicuous in  all  the  commotions,  presented  in  a  few  articles  a 
plan  of  insurrection.  He  proposed  to  repair  to  the  Conven- 
tion, carrying  the  rights  of  man  covered  with  crape,  to  seize 
all  the  deputies  who  had  belonged  to  the  Legislative  and  the 
Constituent  Assemblies,  to  cashier  all  the  ministers,  to  destroy 
all  that  were  left  of  the  family  of  the  Bourbons,  &c.  After 
him  Legendre  pressed  forward  to  the  tribune,  for  the  purpose 
of  opposing  these  suggestions.  The  utmost  efforts  of  his  voice 
could  scarcely  overcome  the  cries  and  yells  raised  against  him, 
and  it  was  not  without  the  greatest  difficulty  that  he  succeeded 
in  stating  his  objections  to  the  inflammatory  motions  of  young 
Varlet.  It  was  nevertheless  insisted  that  a  time  should  be 
fixed  for  the  insurrection ;  it  was  also  proposed  that  a  day 
should  be  appointed  to  go  and  demand  what  was  required 
of  the  Convention  ;  but  the  night  being  now  advanced,  the 
meeting  broke  up  without  coming  to  any  decision. 

All  Paris  was  already  informed  of  what  had  been  said,  as 
well  at  the  two  meetings  held  at  the  mairic  on  the  19th  and 
20th,  as  at  the  sitting  of  the  Cordeliers  on  the  22nd.  Many 
of  the  members  of  the  Central  Revolutionary  Committee  had 
themselves  denounced  the  language  used  and  the  motions  made 
there ;  and  the  rumour  of  a  plot  against  a  great  number  of 
citizens  and  deputies  was  universally  circulated.  The  Commis- 
sion of  Twelve  was  apprized  of  what  had  passed,  even  to  the 
minutest  circumstances,  and  prepared  to  act  against  the  desig- 
nated authors  of  the  most  violent  propositions. 

The  section  of  La  Fraternite  formally  denounced  them  on 
the  24th  in  an  address  to  the  Convention ;  it  stated  all  that 
had  been  said  and  done  at  the  meeting  held  at  the  mairie,  and 
loudly  condemned  the  mayor  for  having  attended  it.  The 
right  side  covered  this  courageous  denunciation  with  applause, 
and  moved  that  Pache  should  be  summoned  to  the  bar.  Marat 
replied  that  the  conspirators  were  the  very  members  themselves 
of  the  right  side  ;  that  Valaze,  at  whose  house  they  met  every 
day,  had  advised  them  to  arm  themselves  ;  and  that  they  had 
carried  pistols  with  them  to  the  Convention.  "  Yes,"  replied 
Valaze,  "  I  did  give  that  advice,  because  it  became  necessary 
for  us  to  defend  our  lives,  and  most  assuredly  we  should  have 
defended  them."  "  That  we  should  !  "  emphatically  exclaimed 
all  the  members  of  the  right  side.  Lasource  added  a  very 
important  fact,  that  the  conspirators,  apparently  conceiving 
that  the  execution  was  fixed  for  the  preceding  night,  had  come 
to  his  house  to  carry  him  off, 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  329 

At  this  moment  intelligence  was  received  that  the  Com- 
mission of  Twelve  was  in  possession  of  all  the  information 
necessary  for  discovering  the  plot  and  prosecuting  its  authors, 
and  that  a  report  from  it  might  be  expected  on  the  following- 
day.  The  Convention  meanwhile  declared  that  the  section  of 
La  Fraternite  had  deserved  well  of  the  country. 

The  same  evening  there  was  a  great  uproar  at  the  muni- 
cipality against  the  section  of  La  Fraternite,  which,  it  was 
alleged,  had  calumniated  the  mayor  and  the  patriots,  in 
supposing  that  they  had  a  design  to  murder  the  national 
representatives.  Since  this  project  had  been  only  a  propo- 
sition, opposed,  besides,  by  the  mayor,  Chaumette  and  the 
commune  inferred  that  it  was  a  calumny  to  suppose  the 
existence  of  any  real  conspiracy.  Most  certainly  it  was  not 
a  conspiracy  in  the  true  signification  of  the  word.  It  was 
not  one  of  those  deeply  and  secretly  planned  conspiracies 
which  are  framed  in  palaces  ;  but  it  was  one  of  those  con- 
spiracies which  the  rabble  of  a  great  city  are  capable  of 
forming ;  it  was  the  commencement  of  those  popular  pro- 
jects, tumultuously  proposed  and  executed  by  a  misled  mob, 
as  on  the  14th  of  July  and  the  10th  of  August.  In  this 
sense  it  was  a  real  conspiracy.  But  such  as  these  it  is 
useless  to  attempt  to  stop,  for  they  do  not  take  ignorant 
and  slumbering  authority  by  surprise,  but  overpower  openly 
and  in  the  face  of  day  authority  forewarned  and  wide  awake. 

Next  day  two  other  sections,  those  of  the  Tuileries  and 
the  Butte-des-Moulins,  joined  that  of  La  Fraternite  in  de- 
nouncing the  same  proceedings.  "  If  reason  cannot  gain 
the  ascendency,"  said  the  Butte-des-Moulins,  "  make  an 
appeal  to  the  good  citizens  of  Paris,  and  we  can  assure  you 
beforehand  that  our  section  will  contribute  not  a  little  to 
make  those  disguised  royalists,  who  insolently  assume  the 
name  of  sans-culottes,  shrink  back  again  into  the  dust."  The 
same  day  the  mayor  wrote  to  the  Assembly,  to  explain  what 
had  passed  at  the  mairie.  "It  was  not  a  plot,"  said  he,  'it 
was  a  mere  deliberation  on  the  composition  of  the  list  of 
suspected  persons.  Some  mischievous  persons  had  certainly 
interrupted  the  deliberation  by  certain  unreasonable  sugges- 
tions; but  lie  [Pache]  had  recalled  to  order  those  who  were 
straying  from  it,  and  these  movements  of  excited  minds  had 
no  result." 

Little  account  was  taken  of  Pache's  letter,  and  the  Assembly 
listened  to  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  who  came  to  propose 
a  decree  of  general  safety.  This  decree  placed  the  national 
representation,  and  the  buildings  containing  the  public  treasure, 


3  30  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

under  the  safeguard  of  the  good  citizens.  At  the  sound  of 
the  drums  all  were  to  repair  to  the  rendezvous  of  the  company 
of  the  quarter,  and  to  march  at  the  first  signal  that  should  be 
given  them.  No  one  was  to  absent  himself  from  the  rendezvous ; 
and  till  the  appointment  of  a  commandant-general  to  succeed 
Santerre,  who  was  gone  to  La  Vendee,  the  oldest  chief  of  the 
legions  was  to  have  the  chief  command.  The  meetings  of 
sections  were  to  break  up  by  ten  o'clock,  and  the  presidents 
were  rendered  responsible  for  the  execution  of  this  article. 
The  proposed  decree  was  adopted  entire,  notwithstanding  some 
discussion,  and  in  spite  of  Danton,  who  said  that  in  thus  placing 
the  Assembly  and  the  public  establishments  under  the  safeguard 
of  the  citizens  of  Paris,  they  decreed  fear. 

Immediately  after  proposing  this  decree  the  Commission 
of  Twelve  gave  orders  at  once  for  the  apprehension  of  two 
persons  named  Marino  and  Michel,  administrators  of  police, 
who  were  accused  of  having  brought  forward  in  the  meeting 
at  the  mairie  the  propositions  which  caused  such  a  sensation. 
It  also  caused  Hebert,  the  deputy  of  the  procureur  of  the 
commune,  to  be  apprehended.  This  man  wrote,  under  the 
name  of  Pkre  Duchene,  a  paper  still  more  loathsome  than 
that  of  Marat,  and  adapted,  by  its  hideous  and  disgusting 
language,  to  the  comprehension  of  the  lowest  of  the  rabble. 
In  this  paper  Hebert  circulated  openly  all  that  Marino  and 
Michel  were  accused  of  having  proposed  verbally  at  the  mairie. 
The  Commission  therefore  deemed  it  right  to  prosecute  both 
those  who  preached  and  those  who  intended  to  execute  a  new 
insurrection.  No  sooner  was  the  order  issued  for  Heb'ert's 
apprehension  than  he  posted  off  at  full  speed  to  the  commune 
to  state  what  had  happened,  and  to  show  the  general  council 
the  order  for  his  arrest.  He  was  torn,  he  said,  from  his 
functions  ;  but  he  should  obey.  At  the  same  time  the  com- 
mune ought  not  to  forget  the  oath  it  had  taken,  to  consider 
itself  as  struck  when  a  blow  was  given  to  one  of  its  members. 
It  was  not  for  his  own  sake  that  he  appealed  to  this  oath, 
for  he  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  head  on  the  scaffold,  but 
for  the  sake  of  his  fellow-citizens,  who  were  threatened  with 
a  new  slavery.  Hebert  was  greeted  with  vehement  applause. 
Chaumette,  the  chief  procureur,  embraced  him,  and  the  presi- 
dent kissed  him,  in  behalf  of  the  whole  council.  The  sitting 
was  declared  permanent  till  they  should  have  received  tidings 
of  Hebert.  The  members  of  the  council  were  requested  to 
convey  consolation  and  relief  to  the  wives  and  families  of  all 
those  who  were  or  should  be  imprisoned. 

The   sitting  was  permanent,  and  from  hour  to  hour  they 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  3  1 

sent  to  the  Commission  of  Twelve  to  obtain  tidings  of  the 
magistrate,  torn  away,  as  they  said,  from  his  functions.  At 
half-past  two  in  the  morning  they  learned  that  he  was  under 
examination,  and  that  Varlet  had  also  been  apprehended. 
At  four  it  was  stated  that  Hebert  had  been  sent  to  the 
Abbaye.  At  five  Chaumette  went  to  the  prison  to  see  him. 
but  could  not  obtain  admittance.  In  the  morning  the  general 
council  resolved  upon  a  petition  to  the  Convention,  and  sent 
it  round  by  horsemen  to  the  sections,  in  order  to  obtain  their 
adhesion.  Nearly  all  the  sections  were  at  variance  among 
themselves ;  they  were  for  changing  every  moment  the  bureau 
and  the  pr^'sidents,  for  preventing  or  effecting  arrests,  for  ad- 
hering to  or  opposing  the  system  of  the  commune,  for  signing 
or  rejecting  the  petition  which  it  proposed.  At  length  this 
petition,  approved  by  a  great  number  of  sections,  was  pre- 
sented on  the  28th  to  the  Convention.  The  deputation  of  the 
commune  complained  of  the  calumnies  circulated  against  the 
magistrates  of  the  people ;  it  desired  that  the  petition  of  the 
section  of  La  Fraternite  should  be  transmitted  to  the  public 
accuser,  that  the  guilty,  if  there  were  any,  or  the  calumniators, 
might  be  punished.  Lastly,  it  demanded  justice  against  the 
Commission  of  Twelve,  which  had  committed  an  attack  on 
the  person  of  a  magistrate  of  the  people,  by  causing  him  to  be 
withdrawn  from  his  functions,  and  confining  him  in  the  Abbaye. 
Isnard  presided  at  this  moment,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  answer 
the  deputation.  "  Magistrates  of  the  people,"  said  he,  in  a 
grave  and  severe  tone,  "there  is  an  urgent  necessity  for  you 
to  listen  to  important  truths.  France  has  committed  her 
representatives  to  the  care  of  the  city  of  Paris.  She  wishes 
them  to  be  in  safety  there.  If  the  national  representation 
were  to  be  violated  by  one  of  those  conspiracies  by  which  we 
have  been  surrounded  ever  since  the  10th  of  March,  and  of 
which  the  magistrates  have  been  the  last  to  apprize  us,  I 
declare,  in  the  name  of  the  republic,  that  Paris  would  feel  the 
vengeance  of  France,  and  be  erased  from  the  list  of  cities."* 
Tli is  solemn  and  dignified  answer  produced  a  deep  impression 

*  "  'Listen,'  said  Isnard,  'to  my  words.  If  ever  the  Convention  is  exposed 
to  danger,  if  another  of  these  insurrections  breaks  out,  and  wo  are  outraged  by 
an  armed  faction,  France  will  rise  as  one  man  to  avenge  our  cause  ;  Paris  will 
be  destroyed,  and  soon  the  stranger  will  be  compelled  to  inquire  on  which  bank 
of  the  Seine  the  city  stood!'  This  indignant  reply  produced  at  the  moment  a 
great  impression ;  and  upon  the  continued  refusal  oi  Isnard  to  liberate  Hebert. 
crowds  In.iii  the  benches  of  the  Mountain  rose  to  drag  him  from  his  seat.  The 
Girondins  assembled  bo  defend  him.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult,  Danton,  in  a 
roice  of  thunder,  exclaimed,  'So  much  impudence  is  beyond  belief!  We  will 
resist  you.  Let  there  be  no  longer  any  truce  between  the  Mountain  and  the 
base  men  who  wished  to  save  the  tyrant.'" — Miijiut. 


332  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

upon  the  Assembly.  A  great  number  of  voices  desired  that  it 
should  be  printed.  Danton  maintained  that  it  was  likely  to 
widen  the  breach  which  had  already  begun  to  separate  Paris 
and  the  departments,  and  that  they  ought  to  avoid  doing  any- 
thing that  tended  to  increase  the  mischief.  The  Convention, 
deeming  the  energy  of  the  reply  and  the  energy  of  the  Com- 
mission of  Twelve  sufficient  for  the  occasion,  passed  to  the 
order  of  the  day,  without  directing  the  president's  answer  to 
be  printed. 

The  deputies  of  the  commune  were  therefore  dismissed 
without  obtaining  anything.  All  the  rest  of  the  25th,  and 
the  whole  of  the  26th,  were  passed  in  tumultuous  scenes 
in  the  sections.  They  were  everywhere  at  variance  ;  and  the 
two  opinions  had  by  turns  the  upper  hand,  according  to  the 
hour  of  the  day  and  the  more  or  less  numerous  attendance 
of  the  members  of  each  |)arty.  The  commune  continued  to 
send  deputies  to  inquire  concerning  Hebert.  Once  he  had 
been  found  lying  down ;  at  another  time  he  had  begged  the 
commune  to  make  itself  easy  on  his  account.  They  com- 
plained that  he  had  but  a  wretched  pallet  to  sleep  on.  Some 
sections  took  him  under  their  protection ;  others  prepared  to 
demand  anew  his  release,  and  with  more  energy  than  the 
municipality  ■  had  done.  Lastly,  women,  running  about  the 
streets  with  a  flag,  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  people  to  go 
to  the  Abbaye  and  deliver  their  beloved  magistrate. 

On  the  27th  the  tumult  had  reached  the  highest  pitch. 
People  went  from  one  section  to  another  to  decide  the 
advantage  there  by  knocking  each  other  down  with  chairs. 
At  length,  towards  evening,  about  twenty-eight  sections  had 
concurred  in  expressing  a  wish  for  the  release  of  Hebert,  and 
in  drawing  up  an  imperative  petition  to  the  Convention. 
The  Commission  of  Twelve,  foreseeing  the  tumult  that  was 
preparing,  had  desired  the  commandant  on  duty  to  require 
the  armed  force  of  three  sections,  and  had  taken  care  to 
specify  the  sections  of  the  Butte-des-Moulins,  Lepelletier,  and 
Mail,  the  most  strongly  attached  to  the  right  side,  and  ready 
even  to  fight  for  it.  These  three  sections  had  cheerfully  come 
forward,  and  about  six  in  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  May 
they  were  placed  in  the  courts  of  the  National  Palace,  on 
the  side  next  to  the  Carrousel,  with  their  arms,  and  cannon 
with  lighted  matches.  They  thus  composed  a  respectable 
force,  and  one  capable  of  protecting  the  national  representa- 
tion. But  the  crowd  which  thronged  about  their  ranks  and 
about  the  different  doors  of  the  palace,  the  tumult  which 
prevailed,  and  the  difficulty  there  was  in  getting  into  the  hall, 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  333 

gave,  to  this  scene  the  appearance  of  a  siege.     Some  deputies 
had  had  great  trouble  to  enter ;  they  had   even  experienced 
some  insults  from  the  populace  ;  and  they  excited  some  uneasi- 
ness in  the  Assembly  by  saying  that  it  was  besieged.     This, 
however,  was  not  the  case,  and  if  the  doors  were  obstructed, 
ingress  and  egress  were  not  denied.     Appearances,  however, 
were  sufficient  for  irritated  imaginations,  and  tumult  prevailed 
in  the  Assembly.     Isnard  presided.     The  section  of  the  Cite 
arrived,   and   demanded  the   liberty   of   its   president,   named 
Dobsen,  apprehended  by  order  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve, 
for  having  refused  to  communicate  the  registers  of  his  section. 
It  demanded  also  the   liberation  of  the   other  prisoners,  the 
suppression  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  and  insisted  that 
the  members  composing  it  should  be  put  under  accusation. 
"The  Convention,"  replied  Isnard,  "forgives  your  youth.     It 
will  never  suffer  itself  to  be  influenced  by  any  portion  of  the 
people."     The  Convention  approved  the  reply.     Robespierre, 
on  the  contrary,  was  for  passing  a  censure  on  it ;  the  right 
side   opposed   this ;   a  most  violent  contest  ensued,   and    the 
noise  within  and  that  without  contributed  to  produce  a  most 
frightful  uproar.     At  this  moment  the  mayor  and  the  minister 
of  the  interior  appeared  at  the  bar,  believing,  as  it  was  the 
talk    in    Paris,   that   the    Convention   was    besieged.     At  the 
sight  of  the  minister  of  the  interior  a  general  cry  arose  on 
all  sides  to  call  him  to  account  for  the  state  of  Paris  and  the 
environs  of  the  hall.     Carat's  situation  was  embarrassing ;  for 
it  required  him  to  pronounce  between  the  two  parties,  which 
the  mildness  of  his  character  and  his  political  scepticism  alike 
forbade  him  to  do.     Still,  as  this  scepticism  proceeded  from 
a  real  impartiality  of  mind,  he  would  have  felt  happy  if  the 
Assembly  could  at  that  moment  listen  to  and  understand  him. 
He  addressed  it,  and  went  back  to  the  cause  of  the  disturb- 
ances.    The  first  cause,  in  his  opinion,  was  the  rumour  which 
was  circulated  of  a  secret  meeting  formed  at  the  mairie,  for 
the  purpose  of  plotting  against  the   national   representation. 
Carat  then  repeated  what  Pache  had  stated,  that  this  meeting 
was  not  an  assemblage  of  conspirators,  but  a  legal  meeting, 
having  a  known  object ;  that  if,  in  the  absence  of  the  mayor, 
some  overheated  minds  had   made   guilty  propositions,  these 
propositions,  repelled   with  indignation  when  the   mayor  was 
present,   had  had   no  result,   and    that    it   was  impossible  to 
regard  this  as  a  real  plot ;  that  the  institution  of  the  Com- 
mission of  Twelve  to  investigate   this  alleged  plot,  and  the 
apprehensions  which  had  taken  place  by  its  order,  had  become 
the  cause  of  the  commotion  which  they  then  witnessed;  thai 


3  3 4  HISTOR Y  OF  may  i  79 3 

he  was  not  acquainted  with  Hebert,  and  had  received  no 
accounts  of  him  that  were  unfavourable;  that  he  merely 
knew  that  Hebert  was  the  author  of  a  kind  of  paper,  _  despi- 
cable undoubtedly,  but  which  it  was  wrong  to  consider  as 
dangerous;  that  the  Constituent  and  Legislative  Assemblies 
had  disdained  to  notice  all  the  disgusting  publications  circu- 
lated against  them,  and  that  the  severity  exercised  against 
Hebert  could  not  fail  to  appear  new,  and  perhaps  unseason- 
able ;  that  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  composed  of  worthy 
men  and  excellent  patriots,  was  under  the  influence  of  singular 
prepossessions,  and  that  it  appeared  to  be  too  much  actuated 
by  the  desire  of  displaying  great  energy.  These  words  were 
loudly  applauded  by  the  left  side  and  by  the  Mountain.  Garat, 
then  adverting  to  the  present  situation,  declared  that  the  Con- 
vention was  not  in  danger,  and  that  the  citizens  by  whom  it 
was  surrounded  were  full  of  respect  for  it.  At  these  words 
he  was  interrupted  by  a  deputy,  who  said  that  he  had  been 
insulted.  "  Granted,"  replied  Garat,  "  I  cannot  answer  for 
what  may  happen  to  an  individual  amidst  a  crowd  composed 
of  persons  of  all  sorts  ;  but  let  the  whole  Convention  in  a 
body  appear  at  the  door,  and  I  answer  for  it  that  the  people 
will  respectfully  fall  back  before  it,  that  they  will  hail  its 
presence,  and  obey  its  injunctions." 

Garat  concluded  by  presenting  some  conciliatory  views,  and 
by  intimating,  with  the  greatest  possible  delicacy,  that  those 
who  were  for  repressing  the  violence  of  the  Jacobins  only  ran 
the  risk  of  exciting  it  still  more.  Assuredly  Garat  was  right ; 
by  placing  yourself  upon  the  defensive  against  a  party,  you 
only  irritate  it  the  more,  and  hasten  the  catastrophe;  but 
when  the  conflict  is  inevitable,  ought  we  to  succumb  without 
resistance?  Such  was  the  situation  of  the  Girondins ;  their 
institution  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve  was  an  imprudence, 
but  an  inevitable  and  generous  imprudence. 

Garat,  when  he  had  finished,  nobly  seated  himself  on  the 
right  side,  which  was  reputed  to  be  in  danger,  and  the  Con- 
vention voted  that  his  report  should  be  printed  and  distributed. 
Pache  spoke  after  Garat.  He  exhibited  things  nearly  in  the 
same  light.  He  stated  that  the  Assembly  was  guarded  by 
three  sections,  which  were  attached  to  it,  and  which  had  been 
called  out  by  the  Commission  of  Twelve ;  he  showed  that  in 
this  the  Commission  of  Twelve  had  transgressed  its  powers,  for 
it  had  not  a  right  to  require  the  armed  force.  He  added  that 
a  strong  detachment  had  secured  the  prisons  of  the  Abbaye 
against  any  infraction  of  the  laws,  that  all  danger  was  dispelled, 
and  that  the  Assembly  might  consider  itself  in  perfect  safety. 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  3  3  5 

He  then  begged  that  the  Convention  would  be  pleased  to  hear 
the  citizens  who  came  to  solicit  the  release  of  the  prisoners. 

At  these  words  loud  murmurs  arose  in  the  Assembly.  "It 
is  ten  o'clock,"  cried  a  member  of  the  right  side  ;  "  president, 
put  an  end  to  the  sitting."  "  No,  no,"  replied  voices  on  the 
left;  "hear  the  petitioners."  Henri  Lariviere  insisted  on 
occupying  the  tribune.  "  If  you  desire  to  hear  any  one,"  said 
he,  "  you  ought  to  hear  your  Commission  of  Twelve,  which  you 
accuse  of  tyranny,  and  which  must  make  you  acquainted  with 
its  acts,  in  order  to  enable  you  to  appreciate  them."  His  voice 
was  drowned  by  loud  murmurs.  Isnard,  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  repress  this  disorder,  left  the  arm-chair,  which  was 
taken  by  Herault-Sechelles,*  who  was  greeted  by  the  applause 
of  the  tribunes.  He  consulted  the  Assembly,  which,  amidst 
threats,  uproar,  and  confusion,  voted  that  the  sitting  should  be 
continued. 

The  speakers  were  conducted  to  the  bar,  followed  by  a  host 
of  petitioners.  They  insolently  demanded  the  suppression  of 
an  odious  and  tyrannical  commission,  the  release  of  the  persons 
in  confinement,  and  the  triumph  of  virtue.  "  Citizens,"  replied 
Herault-Sechelles,  "the  force  of  reason  and  the  force  of  the  people 
are  one  and  the  same  thing."  This  dogmatic  absurdity  was 
received  with  thunders  of  applause.  "  You  demand  justice/' 
added  he  ;   "justice  is  our  first  duty ;  you  shall  have  it." 

Other  petitioners  succeeded  the  former.  Various  speakers 
were  then  heard,  and  a  projet  of  decree  was  drawn  up  by  which 
the  citizens  imprisoned  by  the  Commission  of  Twelve  were 
released,  the  Commission  of  Twelve  was  dissolved,  and  its  con- 
duct referred  for  investigation  to  the  committee  of  general 
welfare.  The  night  was  far  advanced;  the  petitioners  were 
introduced  in  crowds,  and  obstructed  the  hall.  The  darkness, 
the  shouts,  the  tumult,  the  concourse,  all  contributed  to  in- 
crease the  confusion.  The  decree  was  put  to  the  vote,  and 
passed  without  its  being  possible  to  tell  whether  it  had  been 
voted  or  not.  Some  said  that  the  president  had  not  been  heard  ; 
others,  that  there  was  not  a  sufficient  number  of  votes ;  others, 
again,  that  the  petitioners  had  taken  the  seats  of  the  absent 
deputies,  and  that  the  decree  was  invalid.  It  was  nevertheless 
proclaimed,  and  the  tribunes  and  the  petitioners  hurried  away 
to  inform  the  commune,  the  sections,   the  Jacobins,   and  the 

*  See  Appendix  LLLL. 

t  "It  well  became  lli'rault  de  Srcliclli-s,  during  the  struggle  between  the 
Mountain  and  the  Gironde,  impudently  to  violate  all  law,  who  had  previously- 
violated  all  reason,  by  exclaiming  that  '  the  powers  of  the  people  and  of  reason 
were  the  same  ! '  " — Prudhom/me. 


336  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  may  1793 

Cordeliers,  that    the    prisoners  were   released,    and  the   com- 
mission dissolved.* 

These  tidings  produced  great  popular  rejoicing  and  a  mo- 
mentary tranquillity  in  Paris.     The  face  of  the  mayor  himself 
seemed  to  express  sincere  satisfaction  at  seeing  the  disturbances 
appeased.     The  Girondins,  however,  being  determined  to  fight 
to  the  last  extremity,   and  not  to  resign  the  victory  to  their 
adversaries,  met  the  following  day,  burning  with  indignation. 
Lanjuinais,  in  particular,  who  had  taken  110  part  in  the  ani- 
mosities resulting  from  personal  pride  which  divided  the  two 
sides  of  the  Convention,  and  who  was  pardoned  for  his  obstinacy, 
because  he  seemed  to  be  actuated  by  no  personal  resentment — 
Lanjuinais  came  full  of  ardour  and   resolution   to    make    the 
Assembly  ashamed  of  its  weakness  on  the  preceding   night. 
No  sooner  had  Osselin  moved  the  reading  of  the  decree  and  its 
definitive  preparation,  in  order  that  the  prisoners    might    be 
forthwith  released,  than  Lanjuinais  rushed  to  the  tribune  and 
desired  to  be  heard,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  that  the 
decree  was  invalid  and  had  never  been  passed.     He  was  inter- 
rupted by  violent  murmurs.      "Grant  me  silence,"  said  he  to 
the  left,   "  for  I  am  determined  to  remain  here  till  you  have 
heard  me."     It  was  insisted  that  Lanjuinais  had  no  right  to 
speak  except  with  reference  to  the  wording  of  the  decree ;  yet, 
after  doubtful  trials,  it  was  decided  that  Lanjuinais  should  have 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt  and  be  heard.     He  then  commenced 
his    explanation,  and  asserted   that   the    question   before    the 
Assembly  was  one  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  general 
safety.     "More  than  fifty  thousand  citizens,"  said  he,  "have 
been  imprisoned  throughout  all  France  by  your  commissioners  ; 
more  arbitrary  arrests  have  taken  place  in  a  month,  than  in  a 
century  under  the  old  government ;  and  yet  you  complain  of 
the  apprehension  of  two  or  three  men  who  are  preaching  up 
murder   and   anarchy  in  penny   publications.     Your   commis- 
sioners are  proconsuls  who  act  far  away  out  of  your  sight,  and 
whom  you  suffer  to  act ;  and  your  commission,  placed  by  your 
side,  under  your  immediate  superintendence,  you  distrust,  you 
suppress  !     Last  Sunday  it  was  proposed  in  the  Jacobinidre  to 
get  up   a  massacre  in  Paris ;    the    same    deliberation  is  this 
evening  resumed  at  the  Eveche  ;   proofs  of  this  are  furnished, 
are  tendered  to  you,  and  you  reject  them  !    You  protect  the  men 
of  blood !  "     Murmurs  arose  at  these  words,  and  drowned  the 

*  "The  motion  was  put,  that  the  Commission  of  Twelve  should  be  abolished, 
and  Hebert  set  at  liberty  ;  it  was  carried  at  midnight  amid  shouts  of  triumph 
from  the  mob,  who  constituted  the  majority,  by  climbing  over  the  rails,  and 
voting  on  the  benches  of  the  Mountain  with  the  Jacobins." — Lacrctclle. 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  337 

voice  of  Lanjuinais.  "  We  can  deliberate  no  longer,"  exclaimed 
Chambon  ;  "all  that  we  can  do  is  to  retire  to  our  depart- 
ments." "  Your  doors  are  beset,"  resumed  Lanjuinais.  "  It  is 
false,"  cried  the  left.  "Yesterday,"  rejoined  Lanjuinais,  with 
all  his  might,  "  you  were  not  free  ;  you  were  controlled  by  the 
preachers  of  murder."  Legendre,  raising  his  voice,  from  his 
seat,  said,  "  They  want  to  make  us  waste  the  sitting ;  I  declare 
that  if  Lanjuinais  continues  his  lies,  I  will  go  and  throw  him 
out  of  the  tribune."  At  this  scandalous  threat  the  Assembly 
was  indignant,  and  the  tribunes  applauded.  Guadet  immedi- 
ately moved  that  the  words  of  Legendre  should  be  inserted  in 
the  minutes  (procds-verbal)  and  published  to  all  France,  that  it 
might  know  how  its  deputies  were  treated.  Lanjuinais,  in 
continuation,  maintained  that,  the  decree  of  the  preceding 
evening  had  not  been  passed,  for  the  petitioners  had  voted 
with  the  deputies ;  or  that,  if  it  had  been  passed,  it  ought  to 
be  repealed,  because  the  Assembly  was  not  free.  "  When  you 
are  free,"  added  Lanjuinais,  "you  do  not  vote  the  impunity  of 
crime."  On  the  left  it  was  affirmed  that  Lanjuinais  was 
misrepresenting  facts,  that  the  petitioners  had  not  voted,  but 
had  withdrawn  to  the  passages.  The  contrary  was  asserted  on 
the  right ;  and  without  settling  this  point,  the  Assembly  pro- 
ceeded to  vote  upon  the  repeal  of  the  decree.  By  a  majority 
of  fifty-one  votes  the  decree  was  repealed.  "  You  have  per- 
formed," said  Danton,  "  a  striking  act  of  justice,  and  I  hope 
that  it  will  be  brought  forward  again  before  the  end  of  the 
sitting ;  but  if  the  commission  which  you  have  just  reinstated 
retains  its  tyrannical  powers,  if  the  magistrates  of  the  people 
are  not  restored  to  liberty  and  to  their  functions,  I  declare 
to  you  that,  after  proving  that  we  surpass  our  enemies  in  pru- 
dence and  discretion,  we  will  prove  that  we  surpass  them  in  daring 
and  in  revolutionary  energy."  The  provisional  release  of  the 
prisoners  was  then  put  to  the  vote  and  pronounced  unanimously. 
Rabaut  St.  Etienne  desired  permission  to  speak  in  the  name  of 
the  Commission  of  Twelve ;  he  claimed  attention  in  the  name 
of  the  public  welfare,  but  could  not  obtain  a  hearing;  at  length 
he  signified  his  resignation. 

The  decree  was  thus  repealed,  and  the  majority,  reverting  to 
the  right  side,  seemed  to  prove  that  it  was  only  in  moments  of 
weakness  that  decrees  could  be  carried  by  the  left.     Though 

*  "  Danton  was  afraid  to  resume  the  combat,  for  he  dreaded  the  triumph  of 
the  Mountaineers  as  much  as  that  of  the  Girondins  ;  accordingly  he  wished  by 
turns  to  prevent  the  31st  of  May,  and  to  moderate  its  results:  but  he  found 
himself  reduced  to  join  his  own  party  during  the  combat,  and  to  be  silent  after 
the  victory." — Mignet. 

vol..  11.  50 


338  HISTOR  Y  OF  m ay  i  7 9  3 

the  magistrates  whose  release  had  been  demanded  were  set  at 
liberty,  though  Hebert  had  been  restored  to  the  commune, 
where  he  was  presented  with  crowns,  still  the  repeal  of  the 
decree  had  rekindled  all  the  passions,  and  the  storm,  which 
seemed  to  be  dispelled  for  a  moment,  threatened  to  burst  with 
aggravated  fury. 

On  the  same  day  the  assembly  which  had  been  held  at  the 
mairie,  but  ceased  to  meet  there  after  the  mayor  put  a  stop 
to  the  propositions  of  public  safety,  as  they  were  called,  was 
renewed  at  the  Eveche,  in  the  electoral  club,  to  which  a 
few  electors  occasionally  resorted.  It  was  composed  of  com- 
missioners of  sections,  chosen  from  among  the  committees  of 
surveillance,  commissioners  of  the  commune,  of  the  department, 
and  of  various  clubs.  The  very  women  had  representatives 
there,  and  among  five  hundred  persons  there  were  a  hundred 
women,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  one  notorious  for  her  fanatic 
extravagances  and  her  popular  elocjuence.*  On  the  first  day, 
this  meeting  was  attended  by  the  envoys  of  thirty-six  sections 
only ;  there  were  twelve  which  had  not  sent  commissioners, 
and  a  new  convocation  was  addressed  to  them.  The  Assembly 
then  proceeded  to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  six 
members,  for  the  purpose  of  devising  and  reporting  next  day 
the  means  of  public  welfare.  After  this  preliminary  measure  the 
meeting  broke  up,  and  adjourned  to  the  following  day,  the  29th. 

The  same  evening  great  tumult  prevailed  in  the  sections. 
Notwithstanding  the  decree  of  the  Convention  which  required 
them  to  close  at  ten  o'clock,  they  continued  to  sit  much  later, 
constituting  themselves  at  that  hour  patriotic  societies,  and  by 
this  new  title  prolonging  their  meeting  till  the  night  was  con- 
siderably advanced.  In  some  they  prepared  fresh  addresses 
against  the  Commission  of  Twelve  ;  in  others  they  drew  up 
petitions  to  the  Assembly,  demanding  an  explanation  of  those 
words  of  Isnard  :  Paris  will  be  erased  from  the  list  of  cities. 

At  the  commune,  Chaumette  made  a  long  speech  on  the  evi- 
dent conspiracy  that  was  hatching  against  liberty,  on  the  minis- 
ters, on  the  right  side,  &c.  Hebert  arrived,  gave  an  account 
of  his  detention,  received  a  crown,  which  he  placed  upon  the 
bust  of  J.  J.  Eousseau,  and  then  returned  to  the  section,  accom- 
panied by  the  commissioners  of  the  commune,  who  brought 
back  in  triumph  the  magistrate  released  from  confinement. 

Next  day,  the  29th,  the  Convention  was  afflicted  by  dis- 
astrous intelligence  from  the  two  most  important  military 
points,  the  North  and  La  Vendee.      The   army  of  the  North 

*  See  Appendix  MMMM. 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  339 

had  been  repulsed  between  Bouchain  and  Cambrai ;  all  com- 
munication between  Valenciennes  and  Cambrai  was  cut  off. 
At  Fontenay  the  republican  troops  had  been  completely  de- 
feated by  M.  de  Lescure.  who  had  taken  Fontenay  itself.* 
These  tidings  produced  general  consternation,  and  rendered 
the  situation  of  the  moderate  party  still  more  dangerous.  The 
sections  came  in  succession  with  banners,  inscribed  with  the 
words,  Resistance  to  Oppression.  Some  demanded,  as  they  had 
announced  on  the  preceding  evening,  an  explanation  of  the 
expression  used  by  Isnard ;  some  declared  that  there  was  no 
other  inviolability  than  that  of  the  people  ;  that  consequently 
the  deputies  who  had  sought  to  arm  the  departments  against 
Paris  ought  to  be  placed  under  accusation  ;  that  the  Commission 
of  Twelve  ought  to  be  suppressed  ;  that  a  revolutionary  army 
ought  to  be  organized,  &c. 

At  the  Jacobins  the  sitting  was  not  less  significant.  On  all 
sides  it  was  said  that  the  moment  had  arrived,  that  it  was  hisrh 
time  to  save  the  people  ;  and  whenever  a  member  came  forward 
to  detail  the  means  to  be  employed,  he  was  referred  to  the 
Commission  of  Six,  appointed  at  the  central  club.  "  That  com- 
mission," he  was  told,  "is  directed  to  provide  for  everything, 
and  to  devise  the  means  of  public  welfare."  Legendre,  who 
would  have  expatiated  on  the  dangers  of  the  moment,  and  the 
necessity  of  trying  all  legal  means  before  recourse  was  had 
to  violent  measures,  was  called  a  sleepy  fellow.  Robespierre, 
without  speaking  out,  said  that  the  commune  ought  to  unite 
heartily  with  the  people ;  that  for  his  part  he  was  incapable  of 
prescribing  the  means  of  welfare  ;  that  this  was  given  only  to 
a  single  individual,  but  it  was  not  given  to  him,  exhausted 
by  four  years  of  revolution,  and  consumed  by  a  slow  and 
deadly  fever. "J" 

These  words  of  the  tribune  produced  a  powerful  effect,  and 
drew  forth  vehement  applause.  They  clearly  indicated  that  he 
was  waiting,  like  everybody  else,  to  see  what  would  be  done 
by  the  municipal  authorities  at  the  Eveche.  The  assembly  at 
the  Eveche  had  met.  and,  as  on  the  preceding  night,  it  con- 
tained a  considerable  number  of  women.  Its  first  business 
was  to  make  proprietors  easy  by  swearing  to  respect  property. 
"  Property,"  some  one  exclaimed,  "was  respected  on  the  10th 
of  August,  and  on  the  14th  of  July,"  and  an  oath  was  immedi- 
ately taken  to  respect  it  on  the  31st  of  May  1793.  Dufourny, 
a  member  of  the  Commission  of  Six,  then  said  that,  without  a 
commandant-general  of  the  Parisian  guard,  it  was  impossible 

*  Set  Appendix  NNNN.  t  Set  Appendix  0000. 


340  HISTOR  Y  OF  may  1793 

to  answer  for  any  result,  and  that  the  commune  ought  to  be 
desired  to  appoint  one  immediately.  A  woman,  the  celebrated 
Lacombe,  then  spoke ;  she  seconded  Dufourny's  proposition, 
and  declared  that,  without  prompt  and  vigorous  measures,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  save  themselves.  Commissioners  were 
immediately  despatched  to  the  commune,  which  replied  in 
Pache's  manner,  that  the  mode  for  the  appointment  of  a 
commandant-general  was  fixed  by  the  decrees  of  the  Conven- 
tion, and  that  as  this  mode  forbade  it  to  appoint  that  officer 
itself,  all  that  it  could  do  was  to  form  wishes  on  the  subject. 
This  was  in  fact  advising  the  club  to  class  this  measure  among 
the  extraordinary  measures  of  public  welfare,  which  it  was  to 
take  upon  itself.  The  assembly  then  deliberated  upon  inviting 
all  the  cantons  of  the  department  to  join  it,  and  sent  deputies 
to  Versailles.  A  blind  confidence  was  demanded  in  the  name  of 
the  six,  and  a  promise  was  required  to  execute  without  exami- 
nation whatever  they  should  propose.  Silence  was  enjoined 
on  every  point  connected  with  the  great  question  of  means; 
and  the  meeting  adjourned  till  nine  the  next  morning,  then  to 
commence  a  permanent  sitting,  which  was  to  be  decisive. 

The  Commission  of  Twelve  was  apprized  of  everything  on  the 
very  same  evening,  and  so  was  the  committee  of  public  safety, 
and  it  learned,  moreover,  from  a  placard  printed  during  the  day, 
that  secret  meetings  were  held  at  Charenton,  and  attended  by 
Danton,  Marat,  and  Robespierre.  The  committee  of  public 
welfare,  taking  advantage  of  a  moment  when  Danton  was 
absent  from  it,  ordered  the  minister  of  the  interior  to  cause  the 
strictest  search  to  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  this 
clandestine  meeting.  Nothing  was  discovered,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  rumour  circulated  concerning 
it  was  false.  It  appears  to  have  been  in  the  assembly  of  the 
commune  that  everything  was  done.  Robespierre  earnestly 
wished  for  a  revolution  that  should  be  directed  against  his  anta- 
gonists, the  Girondins ;  but  he  had  no  need  to  compromise  himself 
in  order  to  produce  it ;  all  that  he  had  to  do  was  not  to  oppose 
it,  as  he  had  done  several  times  during  the  month  of  May. 

Accordingly  his  speech  delivered  during  the  day  at  the 
Jacobins,  in  which  he  said  that  the  commune  ought  to  unite 
with  the  people,  and  devise  the  means  which  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  discover,  was  a  real  consent  given  to  the  insurrection. 
That  was  quite  sufficient ;  and  there  was  ardour  enough  in  the 
central  club  to  render  his  interference  unnecessary.  As  for 
Marat,  he  assisted  it  by  his  paper,  and  by  the  scenes  got  up  by 
him  every  day  in  the  Convention  ;  but  he  was  not  a  member 
of  the  Commission  of  Six.  really  and  truly  charged  with  the 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTIOK  3  4 1 

business  of  insurrection.  The  only  man  who  can  be  considered 
as  the  secret  author  of  that  movement  is  Danton ;  but  he  had 
opposed  it ;  he  desired  the  suppression  of  the  Commission  of 
Twelve,  but  still  he  had  no  wish  that  the  national  representation 
should  be  yet  meddled  with.  Meilhan,  meeting  him  one  day 
at  the  committee  of  public  welfare,  accosted  and  conversed 
amicably  with  him,  remarked  what  a  difference  the  Girondins 
made  between  him  and  Robespierre,  and  how  highly  they 
appreciated  his  great  resources,  adding  that  he  might  play  a 
high  part  if  he  would  employ  his  power  in  behalf  of  good,  and 
for  the  support  of  honest  men.  Danton,  touched  by  these 
words,  abruptly  raised  his  head,  and  said  to  Meilhan,  "  Your 
Girondins  have  no  confidence  in  me."  Meilhan  would  have 
proceeded  in  the  same  strain.  "  They  have  no  confidence," 
repeated  Danton,  and  retired  without  wishing  to  prolong  the 
conversation. 

These  words  delineate  most  correctly  the  disposition  of  the 
man.  He  despised  the  municipal  populace,  he  had  no  liking 
either  for  Robespierre  or  for  Marat,  and  he  would  much  rather 
have  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Girondins,  but  they  had  no 
confidence  in  him.  Different  conduct  and  principles  separated 
them  entirely.  Danton,  moreover,  found  neither  in  their  char- 
acter nor  in  their  opinion  the  energy  recpiisite  for  saving  the 
Revolution,  the  grand  object  which  he  cherished  above  all 
tilings.  Danton,  indifferent  to  persons,  sought  only  to  discover 
which  of  the  two  parties  was  likely  to  ensure  to  the  Revolution 
the  most  certain  and  the  most  rapid  progress.  Master  of 
the  Cordeliers  and  of  the  Commission  of  Six,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  he  had  a  great  hand  in  the  movement  which  was 
preparing;  and  it  appears  that  he  meant  first  to  overthrow  the 
Commission  of  Twelve,  and  then  to  consider  what  was  to  be 
done  in  regard  to  the  Girondins. 

At  length  the  plan  of  insurrection  was  decided  in  the  heads 
of  the  conspirators  of  the  Central  Revolutionary  Club.  They 
meant  not,  according  to  their  own  expression,  to  excite  a 
physical  but  only  a  purr///  moral  insurrection,  to  respect  per- 
sons and  property — in  short,  to  violate,  so  to  speak,  in  the 
most  orderly  manner,  the  laws  and  the  liberty  of  the  Conven- 
tion. Their  intention  was  to  declare  the  commune  in  a  siate  of 
insurrection,  to  call  out  in  its  name  all  the  armed  force  which 
it  had  a  right  to  require,  to  surround  the  Convention  with  it, 
and  to  present  to  that  Assembly  an  address,  which  should  be 
apparently  only  a  petition,  but  really  and  truly  an  order. 
They  meant,  in  short,  to  petition  sword  in  hand. 

Accordingly,  on  Thursday,  the  30th,  the  commissioners  of  the 


342  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

sections  met  at  the  Eveche,  and  formed  what  they  called  the 
republican  union.  Invested  with  the  full  powers  of  all  the 
sections,  they  declared  themselves  in  insurrection  to  save  the 
commonwealth,  threatened  by  the  aristocratic  faction,  the  fac- 
tion oppressive  of  liberty.  The  mayor,  persisting  in  his  usual 
circumspection,  made  some  remonstrances  on  the  nature  of  that 
measure,  which  he  mildly  opposed,  and  finished  by  obeying  the 
insurgents,  who  ordered  him  to  go  to  the  commune  and  acquaint 
it  with  what  they  had  just  resolved  upon.  It  was  then  deter- 
mined that  the  forty-eight  sections  should  be  called  together  to 
give  their  votes  that  very  day  upon  the  insurrection,  and  that 
immediately  afterwards  the  tocsin  should  be  rung,  the  barriers 
closed,  and  the  ge'n&ale  beaten  in  all  the  streets.  The  sections 
accordingly  met,  and  the  whole  day  was  spent  in  tumultuously 
collecting  the  votes  for  insurrection.  The  committee  of  public 
welfare,  and  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  sent  for  the  authori- 
ties to  obtain  information.  The  mayor,  with  at  least  apparent 
regret,  communicated  the  plan  resolved  upon  at  the  Eveche. 
U  Ihiilliev,  procureur  syndic  of  the  department,  confessed  openly, 
and  with  a  calm  assurance,  the  plan  of  a  purely  moral  insurrec- 
tion, and  went  back  quietly  to  his  colleagues. 

Thus  ended  the  day,  and  at  nightfall  the  tocsin  rang,  the 
generate  was  beaten  in  all  the  streets,  the  barriers  were  closed, 
and  the  astonished  citizens  asked  one  another  if  fresh  massacres 
were  about  to  drench  the  capital  in  blood.  All  the  deputies 
of  the  Gironde  and  the  threatened  ministers  passed  the  night 
out  of  their  own  homes.*  Roland  concealed  himself  at  a 
friend's  house ;  Buzot,  Louvet,  Barbaroux,  Guadet,  Bergoing, 
and  Eabaut  St.  Etienne  entrenched  themselves  in  a  sequestered 
apartment,  provided  with  good  weapons,  and  ready,  in  case  of 
attack,  to  defend  themselves  to  the  last  drop  of  their  blood. 
At  five  in  the  morning  they  left  their  retreat  and  proceeded 
to  the  Convention,  where,  under  favour  of  the  returning  day- 
light, a  few  members,  summoned  by  the  tocsin,  had  already 
assembled.  Their  arms,  which  were  apparent,  procured  them 
an  unmolested  passage  through  several  groups,  and  they 
reached  the  Convention,  where  there  were  already  some 
Mountaineers  met,  and  where  Danton  was  conversing  with 
Garat.     "  See,"  said  Louvet  to  Guadet,  "  what  a  horrible  hope 

*  "  The  Girondins  at  this  period  felt  without  doubt,  at  the  bottom  of  their 
hearts,  a  keen  remorse  for  the  means  which  they  had  employed  to  overturn  the 
throne  ;  and  when  those  very  means  were  directed  against  themselves  ;  when 
they  recognized  their  own  weapons  in  the  wounds  which  they  received,  they 
must  have  reflected,  without  doubt,  on  that  rapid  justice  of  revolutions, 
which  concentrates  in  a  few  instants  the  events  of  several  ages." — Madame 
de  Stael. 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  343 

beams  from  those  faces!"  "Yes,"  replied  Guadet,  "it  is 
to-day  that  Olodius  banishes  Cicero."  Garat,  on  his  part, 
surprised  to  see  Danton  so  early  at  the  Assembly,  was 
attentively  watching  him.  "  What  is  the  reason  of  all  this 
noise,  and  what  do  they  want  ?  "  said  Garat.  "It  is  nothing," 
coolly  replied  Danton.  "They  must  be  allowed  to  break  in 
pieces  a  few  presses,  and  be  dismissed  with  that  satisfaction." 
Twenty-eight  deputies  were  present.  Fermont  took  the  arm- 
chair for  the  moment ;  Guadet  courageously  acted  as  secretary. 
The  number  of  the  deputies  increased,  and  they  awaited  the 
moment  for  opening  the  sitting. 

At  this  instant  the  insurrection  was  consummated  at  the 
commune.  The  envoys  of  the  Central  Revolutionary  Committee, 
with  Dobsen,  the  president,  at  their  head,  repaired  to  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  furnished  with  revolutionary  full  powers.  Dobsen, 
addressing  the  general  council,  declared  that  the  people  of 
Paris,  injured  in  their  rights,  had  just  annulled  all  the  con- 
stituted authorities.  The  vice-president  of  the  council  begged 
to  see  the  full  powers  of  the  committee.  He  examined  them, 
and  finding  the  wish  of  thirty-three  sections  of  Paris  expressed 
therein,  he  declared  that  the  majority  of  the  sections  annulled 
the  constituted  authorities.  In  consecjuence,  the  general  council 
of  the  bureau  retired.  Dobsen  and  the  commissioners  took  pos- 
session of  the  vacant  place,  amidst  shouts  of  Vive  la  IMpublique  1 
He  then  consulted  the  new  assembly,  and  proposed  to  it  to 
reinstate  the  municipality  and  the  general  council  in  their 
functions,  since  neither  of  them  had  ever  failed  in  their  duties 
to  the  people.  Accordingly  the  old  municipality  and  the  old 
general  council  were  forthwith  reinstated,  amidst  the  most 
vehement  applause.  The  object  of  these  apparent  formalities 
was  only  to  renew  the  municipal  powers,  and  to  render  them 
unlimited  and  adequate  to  the  insurrection.  Immediately  after- 
wards a  new  provisional  commandant-general  was  appointed  ; 
this  was  one  Henriot,  a  vulgar  man,  devoted  to  the  commune, 
ami  commandant  of  the  battalion  of  the  sans-culottes.  In 
order  to  ensure  the  aid  of  the  people,  and  to  keep  them  under 
anus  in  these  moments  of  agitation,  it  was  next  resolved  that 
forty  sous  per  day  should  be  paid  to  all  the  citizens  on  duty 
who  were  in  narrow  circumstances,  and  that  these  forty  sous 
should  lie  taken  from  the  produce  of  the  forced  loan  ex- 
torted from  the  rich.  This  was  a  sure  way  of  calling  out  to 
the  aid  of  the  commune,  and  against  the  bourgeoisie  of  the 
sections,  ad  the  working-people,  who  would  rather  earn  forty 
sous  by  assisting  in  revolutionary  movements  than  thirty  by 
pursuing  their  usual  occupations. 


344  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

During  these  proceedings  at  the  commune  the  citizens  of 
the  capital  assembled  at  the  sound  of  the  tocsin,  and  repaired 
in  arms  to  the  colours  placed  at  the  door  of  each  captain  of  a 
section.  A  great  number  knew  not  what  to  think  of  these 
movements  ;  many  even  asked  why  they  were  called  out,  being 
still  ignorant  of  the  measures  taken  overnight  in  the  sections 
and  at  the  commune.  In  this  predicament  they  were  incapable 
of  acting  and  resisting  what  might  be  done  contrary  to  their 
opinion,  and  they  were  obliged,  even  though  disapproving  of 
the  insurrection,  to  second  it  with  their  presence.  More  than 
eighty  thousand  armed  men  were  traversing  Paris  with  the  ut- 
most tranquillity,  and  quietly  allowing  themselves  to  be  led  by 
the  daring  authority  which  had  assumed  the  command.  The 
sections  of  the  Butte-des-Moulins,  the  Mail,  and  the  Champs 
Elysees,  which  had  long  been  decidedly  hostile  to  the  com- 
mune and  the  Mountain,  were  alone  ready  to  resist,  because 
the  danger  which  they  shared  with  the  Girondins  gave  them 
rather  more  courage.  They  had  met  in  arms,  and  awaited 
what  was  to  follow,  in  the  attitude  of  men  who  conceived  them- 
selves to  be  threatened,  and  were  prepared  to  defend  their 
lives.  The  Jacobins  and  the  sans-culottcs,  alarmed  at  these 
dispositions,  and  exaggerating  them  in  their  own  minds, 
hastened  to  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  saying  that  these 
revolted  sections  were  going  to  hoist  the  white  flag  and  the 
white  cockade,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  repair  with  all 
possible  expedition  to  the  centre  of  Paris,  in  order  to  prevent 
an  explosion  of  the  royalists.  To  produce  a  more  -general 
movement,  it  was  resolved  that  the  alarm-gun  should  be  fired. 
This  gun  was  placed  on  the  Pont  Neuf,  and  the  penalty  of 
death  was  incurred  by  any  one  who  should  fire  it  without  a 
decree  of  the  Convention.  Henriot  gave  orders  that  the  gun 
should  be  fired ;  but  the  commanding  officer  of  the  post 
resisted  this  order,  and  demanded  a  decree.  The  emissaries 
of  Henriot  returned  in  force,  overcame  the  resistance  of  the 
post,  and  at  that  moment  the  pealing  of  the  alarm-gun  mingled 
with  the  sounds  of  the  tocsin  and  of  the  gtinirale. 

The  Convention,  meeting  early  in  the  morning,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  immediately  sent  to  all  the  authorities  to  ascertain 
what  was  the  state  of  Paris.  Garat,  who  was  in  the  hall, 
and  engaged  in  watching  Danton,  first  ascended  the  tribune, 
and  stated  what  everybody  knew,  that  a  meeting  had  been 
held  at  the  Eveche,  that  it  demanded  reparation  for  the  insults 
offered  to  Paris,  and  the  abolition  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve. 
Scarcely  had  Garat  finished  speaking  when  new  commissioners, 
calling  themselves  the  administration  of  the  department  of  the 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  4  5 

Seine,  appeared  at  the  bar,  and  declared  that  nothing  further 
was  intended  than  a  purely  moral  insurrection,  having  for  its 
object  the  reparation  of  the  outrages  offered  to  the  city  of 
Paris.  They  added  that  the  strictest  order  was  observed  ;  that 
every  citizen  had  sworn  to  respect  persons  and  property ;  that 
the  armed  sections  were  quietly  traversing  the  city ;  and  that- 
all  the  authorities  would  come  in  a  body  in  the  course  of  the 
day  to  make  known  to  the  Convention  their  profession  of  faith 
and  their  demands. 

Mallarme,  the  president,  immediately  afterwards  read  a  note 
from  the  commandant  of  the  post  at  the  Pont  Neuf,  relative 
to  the  contest  which  had  taken  place  on  account  of  the  alarm- 
gun.  Dufriche- Valaze"  instantly  demanded  that  search  should 
be  made  after  the  authors  of  this  movement,  and  the  criminals 
who  had  sounded  the  tocsin,  and  that  the  commandant-general, 
wIki  had  had  the  audacity  to  order  the  alarm-gun  to  be  fired 
without  a  decree  of  the  Convention,  should  be  arrested.  At 
this  demand  the  tribunes  and  the  left  side  raised  such  cries 
as  might  naturally  be  expected.  Valaze  was  not  daunted ; 
he  declared  that  nothing  should  ever  make  him  renounce 
his  character,  that  he  was  the  representative  of  twenty-five 
millions  of  men,  and  that  he  would  do  his  duty  to  the  last ; 
he  concluded  with  moving  that  the  so  grossly  calumniated 
Commission  of  Twelve  should  be  immediately  heard,  and  that 
its  report  should  be  read,  for  what  was  at  that  moment  occur- 
ring afforded  a  proof  of  the  plots  which  it  had  never  ceased 
to  denounce.  Thuriot  *  attempted  to  answer  Valaze.  The 
struggle  commenced,  and  tumult  ensued.  Mathieu  and  Cambon 
endeavoured  to  act  as  mediators  ;  they  claimed  the  silence  of 
the  tribunes  and  the  moderation  of  the  members  of  the  right ; 
and  they  represented  that  a  combat  at  that  moment  in  the 
capital  would  prove  fatal  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution  :  that 
calmness  was  the  only  means  of  keeping  up  the  dignity  of 
the  Convention,  and  that  dignity  was  the  only  means  that  it 
possessed  l<>r  commanding  the  respect  of  the  evil-disposed. 
Vergniaud,  inclined,  like  Mathieu  and  Cambon,  to  employ 
conciliatory  means,  said  that  he,  too,  considered  the  conflict 
about  to  commence  as  fatal  to  liberty  and  to  the  Revolution; 
he  therefore  confined  himself  to  a  mild  censure  of  Thuriot  for 
having  aggravated  the  danger  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve 
by  describing  it  as  the  scourge  of  Prance  ai  a  momenl  when 
all  the  popular  movements  were  directed  against  it.  lie  was 
of  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  dissolved  it'  it   had   commit  led 

*  Sa  Appendix  PPPP. 


346  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

arbitrary  acts,  but  that  it  should  be  heard  first ;  and  as  its  report 
must  necessarily  excite  the  passions,  he  moved  that  the  reading 
of  that  report  and  the  discussion  upon  it  should  be  postponed 
till  a  calmer  day.  This  he  conceived  to  be  the  only  means  of 
maintaining  the  dignity  of  the  Assembly,  and  of  proving  its 
liberty.  For  the  moment  it  was  of  consequence  to  ascertain 
who  had  ordered  the  tocsin  to  be  rung  and  the  alarm-gun  to  be 
fired  in  Paris  ;  it  was  therefore  indispensably  necessary  that  the 
provisional  commandant-general  should  be  summoned  to  the 
bar.  "  I  repeat  to  you,"  exclaimed  Vergniaud,  as  he  concluded, 
••  that  whatever  be  the  issue  of  the  conflict  which  may  this  day 
take  place,  it  would  lead  to  the  loss  of  liberty.  Let  us  swear, 
then,  to  adhere  firmly  to  our  duty,  and  to  die  at  our  posts, 
rather  than  desert  the  public  cause."  The  members  immedi- 
ately rose  with  acclamations,  and  took  the  oath  proposed  by 
Vergniaud.  A  discussion  then  ensued  on  the  suggestion  for 
summoning  the  commandant-general  to  the  bar.  Danton,  on 
whom  all  eyes  were  fixed  at  the  moment,  and  whom  Giron- 
dins  and  Mountaineers  seemed  to  ask  if  he  were  the  author  of 
the  movements  of  the  day,  appeared  at  the  tribune,  and  im- 
mediately obtained  profound  attention.  "The  very  first  thing 
that  requires  to  be  done,"  said  he,  "  is  to  suppress  the  Com- 
mission of  Twelve.  This  is  of  much  greater  importance  than 
to  summon  the  commandant-general  to  the  bar.  It  is  to  men 
endowed  with  some  political  talents  that  I  address  myself. 
Summoning  Henriot  will  make  no  change  in  the  state  of 
things,  for  it  is  not  with  the  instrument,  but  with  the  cause  of 
the  disturbances,  that  we  ought  to  grapple.  Now  the  cause  is 
this  Commission  of  Twelve.  I  pretend  not  to  judge  its  conduct 
and  its  acts  ;  it  is  not  as  having  ordered  arbitrary  arrests  that 
I  attack  it,  but  as  being  impolitic  that  I  exhort  you  to  suppress 
it."  "  Impolitic !  "  exclaimed  a  voice  on  the  right  side,  "  we 
do  not  comprehend  that!"  "You  do  not  comprehend  it!" 
resumed  Danton,  "then  I  must  explain  it  to  you.  This  com- 
mission was  instituted  solely  to  repress  the  popular  energy  ;  it 
was  conceived  entirely  in  that  spirit  of  modcratism  which  will 
be  the  ruin  of  the  Eevolution  and  of  France.  It  has  made  a 
point  of  persecuting  energetic  magistrates  whose  only  crime 
consisted  in  awakening  the  ardour  of  the  people.  I  shall  not 
now  inquire  if  in  its  persecutions  it  has  been  actuated  by 
personal  resentments ;  but  it  has  shown  dispositions  which 
this  day  we  ought  to  condemn.  You  have  yourselves,  on  the 
report  of  your  minister  of  the  interior,  whose  character  is  so 
bland,  whose  mind  is  so  impartial  and  so  enlightened — yon 
have  yourselves  released  the   men  whom  the  Commission   of 


may  1 7  9  3         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  4  7 

Twelve  had  imprisoned.  What  would  yon  do  then  with  the 
commission  itself,  since  you  are  annulling  its  acts  ?  .  .  .  The 
gun  has  pealed,  the  people  have  risen ;  but  the  people  must  be 
thanked  for  their  energy  in  behalf  of  the  very  cause  which  we 
are  defending ;  and  if  you  are  politic  legislators,  you  will  con- 
gratulate yourselves  on  their  ardour,  you  will  reform  your  own 
errors,  and  you  will  abolish  your  commission.  I  address  my- 
self," repeated  Danton,  "to  those  men  only  who  have  some 
notion  of  our  situation,  and  not  to  those  stupid  creatures  who 
in  these  great  movements  can  listen  to  nothing  but  their 
passions.  Hesitate  not.  then,  to  satisfy  the  people  !  "  "  What 
people?"  asked  a  member  on  the  right.  "That  people," 
replied  Danton,  "  that  immense  people  which  is  our  advanced 
sentry,  which  bears  a  bitter  hatred  to  tyranny  and  to  that  base 
moderatism  which  would  bring  it  back.  Hasten  to  satisfy  it ; 
save  it  from  the  aristocrats,  save  it  from  its  own  fury ;  and 
if,  when  it  shall  be  satisfied,  perverse  men.  no  matter  to  what 
party  they  belong,  shall  strive  to  prolong  a  movement  that  is 
become  useless,  Paris  itself  will  reduce  them  to  their  original 
nothingness." 

Rabaut  St.  Etienne  attempted  to  justify  the  Commission  of 
Twelve  on  political  grounds,  and  to  prove  that  nothing  was 
more  politic  than  to  institute  a  commission  to  discover  the 
plots  of  Pitt  and  Austria,  whose  money  excited  all  the  disturb- 
ances in  France.  "Down!"  cried  one;  "silence  Rabaut!" 
"  No,"  exclaimed  Bazire  ;  "  let  him  go  on.  He  is  a  liar  ;  I  will 
prove  that  his  commission  has  organized  civil  war  in  Paris." 
Rabaut  would  have  continued.  Marat  asked  permission  to 
introduce  a  deputation  of  the  commune.  "Let  me  finish 
first,"  said  Rabaut.  Cries  of  "The  commune  !  the  commune  ! 
the  commune  !  "  proceeded  from  the  tribunes  and  the  Moun- 
tain. "I  will  declare,"  resumed  Rabaut,  "that  when  I  would 
have  told  you  the  truth,  you  interrupted  me."  "  Well,  then. 
finish,"  said  one.  Rabaut  concluded  with  proposing  that  the 
commission  should  be  suppressed  if  they  pleased,  but  that  the 
committee  of  public  welfare  should  be  immediately  directed  to 
prosecute  all  the  investigations  which  it  had  commenced. 

The  deputation  of  the  insurrectional  commune  was  intro- 
duced, and  thus  expressed  itself.  "A  great  ph»t  has  been 
formed,  but  it  is  discovered.  The  people  who  ruse  on  the  14th 
of  July  and  on  the  10th  of  August  to  overthrow  tyranny  is 
again  rising  to  stop  the  counter-revolution.  The  general 
council  sends  us  to  communicate  the  measures  which  it  lias 
taken.  The  first  is  to  place  property  under  the  safeguard  of 
the  republicans;  the  second,  to  give  Forty  sous  per  day  to  the 


348  HISTORY  OF  may  1793 

republicans  who  shall  remain  in  arms  ;  the  third  to  form  a 
commission  for  corresponding  with  the  Convention  in  this 
moment  of  agitation.  The  general  council  begs  you  to  assign 
to  this  commission  a  room  near  your  hall,  where  it  may  meet 
and  communicate  with  you." 

Scarcely  had  the  deputation  ceased  speaking  when  Guadet 
presented  himself  to  reply  to  its  demands.  Among  all  the 
Girondins  he  was  not  the  man  whose  appearance  was  most 
likely  to  soothe  the  passions.  "The  commune,"  said  he,  "in 
pretending  that  it  has  discovered  a  plot,  has  made  a  mistake 
of  a  single  word:  it  should  have  said  that  it  has  executed  it." 
Cries  from  the  tribunes  interrupted  him.  Vergniaud  insisted 
that  they  should  be  cleared.  A  tremendous  uproar  ensued, 
and  for  a  long  time  nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  confused 
shouts.  To  no  purpose  Mallarme,  the  president,  repeatedly 
declared  that  if  respect  were  not  paid  to  the  Convention  he 
must  use  the  authority  which  the  law  had  conferred  on  him. 
Guadet  still  occupied  the  tribune,  and  with  difficulty  contrived 
to  make  himself  heard,  by  delivering  now  one  sentence  and 
then  another,  during  the  intervals  of  this  violent  commotion. 
At  length  he  proposed  that  the  Convention  should  suspend 
its  deliberations  until  its  liberty  was  assured ;  and  that  the 
Commission  of  Twelve  should  be  directed  to  prosecute  forthwith 
those  who  had  rung  the  tocsin  and  fired  the  alarm-gun.  Such 
a  proposition  was  not  likely  to  appease  the  tumult.  Vergniaud 
would  have  again  mounted  the  tribune,  to  endeavour  to  restore 
some  degree  of  tranquillity,  when  a  fresh  deputation"  of  the 
municipality  came  to  repeat  the  demands  already  made.  The 
Convention,  urged  afresh,  could  no  longer  resist,  and  decreed 
that  the  working-men  whose  services  were  recjuired  for  the 
security  of  public  order  and  property  should  be  paid  forty 
sous  per  day,  and  that  a  room  should  be  assigned  to  the 
commissioners  of  the  authorities  of  Paris,  for  the  purpose  of 
concerting  with  the  committee  of  public  safety. 

After  this  decree  was  passed,  Couthon  *  replied  to  Guadet,  and 
the  day,  already  far  advanced,  was  spent  in  discussions  without 
result.  The  whole  population  of  Paris  under  arms  continued 
to  traverse  the  city  in  the  most  orderly  manner,  and  in  the 
same  state  of  uncei'tainty.  The  commune  was  busy  in  drawing 
up  new  addresses  relative  to  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  and 
the  Assembly  still  continued  to  be  agitated  for  or  against  that 
commission.  Vergniaud,  who  had  left  the  hall  for  a  short 
time,   and  had   witnessed  the   singular    spectacle   of  a  whole 

*  See  Appendix  QQQQ. 


may- 1 793         THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  349 

population  not  knowing  what  party  to  espouse,  and  blindly 
obeying  the  first  authority  that  chose  to  make  a  tool  of  it, 
thought  that  it  would  be  right  to  profit  by  these  dispositions, 
and  he  made  a  motion  which  had  for  its  object  to  distinguish 
the  agitators  from  the  people  of  Paris,  and  to  win  the  attach- 
ment of  the  latter  by  a  token  of  confidence.  "  Far  be  it  from 
me,"  said  he  to  the  Assembly,  "to  accuse  either  the  majority 
or  the  minority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Paris.  This  day  will 
serve  to  show  how  dearly  Paris  loves  liberty.  It  is  sufficient  to 
walk  through  the  streets,  to  see  the  order  that  prevails  there, 
the  numerous  patrols  passing  to  and  fro ;  it  is  sufficient  to 
witness  this  beautiful  sight  to  induce  you  to  decree  that  Paris 
has  deserved  well  of  the  country  !  "  At  these  words  the  whole 
Assembly  rose,  and  voted  by  acclamation  that  Paris  had  de- 
served well  of  the  country.  The  Mountain  and  the  tribunes 
applauded,  surprised  that  such  a  motion  should  have  proceeded 
from  the  lips  of  Vergniaud.  It  was  certainly  a  very  shrewd 
motion  ;  but  it  was  not  a  flattering  testimony  that  could  awaken 
the  zeal  of  the  sections,  rally  those  which  disapproved  of  the 
conduct  of  the  commune,  and  give  them  the  courage  and  unity 
necessary  for  resisting  insurrection. 

At  this  moment  the  section  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine, 
excited  by  the  emissaries  who  had  come  to  inform  it  that  the 
Butte-des-Moulins  had  hoisted  the  white  cockade,  descended 
towards  the  interior  of  Paris  with  its  cannon,  and  halted  a  few 
paces  from  the  Palais-Royal,  where  the  section  of  the  Butte- 
des-Moulins  was  entrenched.  The  latter  was  drawn  up  in 
order  of  battle  in  the  garden,  had  locked  all  the  gates,  and  was 
ready  with  its  artillery  to  sustain  a  siege  if  it  were  attacked. 
Outside  people  still  continued  to  circulate  a  report  that  it  had 
hoisted  the  white  cockade  and  flag,  and  excited  the  section  of 
the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  to  attack  it.  Some  officers  of  the 
latter,  however,  represented  that,  before  proceeding  to  ex- 
tremities, it  would  be  well  to  satisfy  themselves  of  the  truth 
of  the  alleged  facts,  and  to  endeavour  to  adjust  matters.  They 
went  up  to  the  gate  and  asked  to  speak  to  the  officers  of  the 
Butte-des-Moulins.  They  were  admitted,  and  found  nothing 
but  the  national  colours.  An  explanation  ensued,  and  they 
embraced  one  another.  The  officers  returned  to  their  battalions, 
and  presently  afterwards  the  two  sections,  intermingled,  were 
passing  together  through  the  streets  of  Paris. 

Thus  the  submission  became  more  and  more  general,  and  the 
new  commune  was  left  to  follow  up  its  altercations  with  the 
Convention.  At  this  moment  Barrere,  ever  ready  to  suggest 
middle  courses,  proposed,  in  the  name  of  the   committee    of 


3  5  o  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  may  i  7  9  3 

public  welfare,  to  abolish  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  but  at 
the  same  time  to  place  the  armed  force  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Convention.  While  he  was  detailing  his  plan  a  third  deputa- 
tion came  to  express  its  final  intentions  to  the  Assembly,  in  the 
name  of  the  department,  of  the  commune,  and  of  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  sections,  who  were  then  holding  an  extraordinary 
meeting  at  the  Eveche. 

L'Huillier,  procureur  syndic  of  the  department,  was  the 
spokesman.  "Legislators!"  said  he,  "the  city  and  the  de- 
partment of  Paris  have  long  been  calumniated  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world.  The  same  men  who  wanted  to  ruin  Paris  in 
the  public  opinion  are  the  instigators  of  the  massacres  in  La 
Vendee  ;  it  is  they  who  flatter  and  keep  up  the  hopes  of  our 
enemies  ;  it  is  they  who  revile  the  constituted  authorities,  who 
strive  to  mislead  the  people,  that  they  may  have  a  right  to 
complain  of  them  ;  it  is  they  who  denounce  to  you  imaginary 
plots,  that  they  may  create  real  ones ;  it  is  they  who  have 
demanded  the  Committee  of  Twelve,  in  order  to  oppress  the 
liberty  of  the  people ;  finally,  it  is  they  who,  by  a  criminal 
ferment,  by  contrived  addresses,  by  their  correspondence,  keep 
up  dissensions  and  animosities  in  your  bosom,  and  deprive  the 
country  of  the  most  important  of  benefits — of  a  good  consti- 
tution— which  it  has  bought  by  so  many  sacrifices." 

After  this  vehement  apostrophe,  L'Huillier  denounced  plans 
of  federalism,  declared  that  the  city  of  Paris  would  perish  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  republican  unity,  and  called  for  justice 
upon  the  well-known  words  of  Isnard,  Paris  ivill  be  erased  from 
the  list  of  cities. 

"  Legislators  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  is  it  possible  that  an  idea  of 
destroying  Paris  can  have  been  conceived  ?  Would  you  sweep 
away  this  sacred  seat  of  the  arts  and  of  human  knowledge  ?  " 
After  these  affected  lamentations  he  demanded  vengeance 
against  Isnard,  against  the  twelve,  and  against  many  other 
culp7'its,  such  as  Brissot,  Guadet,  Vergniaud,  Gensonne\  Buzot, 
Barbaroux,  Koland,  Lebrun,  Clavieres,  &c. 

The  right  side  continued  silent.  The  left  side  and  the 
tribunes  applauded.  Gregoire,  the  president,  in  reply  to 
L'Huillier,  pronounced  an  emphatic  panegyric  on  Paris,  and 
invited  the  deputation  to  the  honours  of  the  sitting.  The 
petitioners  who  composed  it  were  mingled  with  a  crowd  of  the 
populace.  Too  numerous  to  find  room  at  the  bar,  they  seated 
themselves  beside  the  Mountain,  which  received  them  cordially, 
and  opened  its  ranks  to  admit  them.  An  unknown  multitude 
then  poured  into  the  hall  and  mingled  with  the  Assembly. 
The  tribunes  rang  with  applause  at  this  spectacle  of  fraternity 


may  1793         THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  5  1 

between  the  representatives  and  the  rabble.  Osselin  imme- 
diately moved  that  the  petition  should  be  printed,  and  that 
they  should  deliberate  upon  its  contents  drawn  up  en  projct 
by  Barrere.  "  President,"  exclaimed  Vergniaud,  "  consult  the 
Assembly  as  to  whether  it  chooses  to  deliberate  in  its  present 
state."  "  Vote  on  Barrere's  projct ! "  was  the  cry  on  the  left. 
"  We  protest  against  all  deliberation,"  cried  the  right.  "  The 
Convention  is  not  free,"  said  Doulcet.  "Well,"  said  Levas- 
seur,  "  let  the  members  of  the  left  side  move  to  the  right,  and 
then  the  Convention  will  be  distinct  from  the  petitioners,  and 
will  be  able  to  deliberate."  At  this  suggestion  the  Mountain 
readily  moved  to  the  right  side.  For  a  moment  the  two  sides 
were  intermingled,  and  the  benches  of  the  Mountain  were 
entirely  relinquished  to  the  petitioners.  The  printing  of  the 
address  was  put  to  the  vote  and  decreed.  The  cry  of  "  Vote  on 
Barrere's  projet ! "  was  then  repeated.  "We  are  not  free," 
replied  several  members  of  the  Assembly.  "  I  move,"  said 
Vergniaud,  "that  the  Convention  go  and  join  the  armed  force 
which  surrounds  it,  to  seek  protection  from  the  violence  that 
it  is  suffering."  As  he  finished  these  words,  he  retired,  fol- 
lowed by  a  great  number  of  his  colleagues.  The  Mountain 
and  the  tribunes  ironically  applauded  the  departure  of  the  right 
side;  the  Plain  was  alarmed  and  undecided.  "I  move,"  said 
Chabot  immediately,  "that  the  names  be  called  over,  to  mark 
the  absentees  who  desert  their  post."  At  this  moment  Verg- 
niaud and  those  who  had  followed  him  returned,  with  looks 
of  the  deepest  mortification  and  dejection  ;  for  this  proceeding, 
which  might  have  been  grand  had  it  been  seconded,  became 
petty  and  ridiculous,  because  it  was  not.  Vergniaud  wished  to 
speak;  but  Robespierre  would  not  give  up  the  tribune,  which 
he  occupied.  He  kept  possession  of  it,  and  claimed  prompt 
and  energetic  measures,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  people;  lie 
insisted  that  the  suppression  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve 
should  be  accompanied  with  severe  measures  against  its 
members;  he  then  expatiated  at  considerable  length  on  the 
wording  of  Barrere's  projet,  and  opposed  the  clause  which 
assigned  the  disposal  of  the  armed  force  to  the  Convention. 
■•  ( 'nnclude,  then,"  said  Vergniaud  impatienl  1  v.  "  Yes,"  replied 
Robespierre,  "I  am  going  to  conclude,  and  against  you — 
against  you,  who,  after  the  Revolution  of  the  10th  of  August, 
were  for  bringing  to  the  scaffold  those  who  effected  it! — 
against  you.  who  have  never  ceased  to  provoke  the  de- 
struction of  Paris! — against  you,  who  wanted  to  save  Hie 
tyranl  ! — against  you,  who  conspired  with  Dumonriez !  .  .  . 
My    conclusion    is    the    decree    of  accusal  inn    againsl    all    the 


3  5  2  HIS  TOR  Y  OF  may  1793 

accomplices  of  Dumonriez,  and  against  those  designated  by  the 
petitioners." 

After  long  and  loud  applause  a  decree  was  drawn  up,  put  to 
the  vote,  and  adopted,  amidst  a  tumult  which  rendered  it  almost 
impossible  to  ascertain  whether  it  had  obtained  a  sufficient 
number  of  votes.  Its  purport  was  as  follows :  the  Commis- 
sion of  Twelve  is  suppressed  ;  its  papers  shall  be  seized,  and  a 
report  made  upon  them  in  three  days ;  the  armed  force  is  in 
permanent  requisition ;  the  constituted  authorities  shall  give 
an  account  to  the  Convention  of  the  means  taken  to  ensure 
the  public  tranquillity ;  proceedings  shall  be  instituted  against 
plots  denounced  ;  and  a  proclamation  shall  be  issued  to  give 
France  a  just  idea  of  this  day,  which  the  evil-disposed  will 
undoubtedly  strive  to  misrepresent. 

It  was  ten  at  night,  and  the  Jacobins  and  the  commune  com- 
plained that  the  day  was  gone  without  producing  any  result. 
The  passing  of  this  decree,  though  it  yet  decided  nothing 
relative  to  the  persons  of  the  Girondins,  was  a  first  success 
which  caused  great  rejoicing,  and  at  which  the  oppressed 
Convention  was  obliged  to  rejoice  too.*  The  commune  im- 
mediately caused  the  whole  city  to  be  illuminated ;  a  civic 
procession  with  flambeaux  was  formed  ;  the  sections  marched 
intermingled,  that  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine  with,  those 
of  the  Butte-des-Moulins  and  the  Mail.  Deputies  of  the 
Mountain  and  the  president  were  obliged  to  attend  this  pro- 
cession, and  the  conquerors  forced  the  vanquished  themselves 
to  celebrate  their  victory. 

The  character  of  the  day  was  sufficiently  evident.  The 
insurgents  had  wished  to  do  everything  according  to  estab- 
lished forms.  They  meant  not  to  dissolve  the  Convention, 
but  to  obtain  from  it  what  they  required,  by  keeping  up  the 
appearance  of  respect  for  it.  The  feeble  members  of  the 
Plain  willingly  gave  way  to  this  delusion,  which  tended  to 
persuade  them  that  they  were  still  free  even  while  obeying. 
The  Commission  of  Twelve  had  been  actually  abolished,  and  the 
investigation  of  its  conduct  had  been  deferred  for  three  days, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  yielding.  The  disposal  of 
the  armed  force  had  not  been  assigned  to  the  Convention  ;  but 
it  had  been  decided  that  an  account  of  the  dispositions  made 
should  be  rendered  to  it,  in  order  that  it  might  still  seem  to 
retain   the    air    of   sovereignty.     Lastly,    a   proclamation    was 

*  "The  conspirators  were  not  satisfied  with  this  half  triumph.  The  insurrec- 
tion became,  instead  of  a  moral  one,  as  they  styled  it,  personal — that  is  to  say, 
it  was  no  longer  directed  against  a  power,  but  against  deputies  ;  it  escaped  Danton 
and  the  Mountain,  and  it  fell  to  Robespierre,  Marat,  and  the  commune." — Miynet. 


j  un  e  1 7  9  3       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  5  3 

ordered  for  the  purpose  of  repeating  officially  that  the  Con- 
vention was  not  afraid,  and  that  it  was  perfectly  free. 

On  the  following  day  Barrere  was  directed  to  draw  up  the 
proclamation,  and  he  travestied  the  occurrences  of  the  31st  of 
May  with  that  rare  skill  which  always  caused  his  assistance  to 
be  sought,  in  order  to  furnish  the  weak  with  an  honourable 
pretext  for  yielding  to  the  strong.  Too  rigorous  measures 
had,  he  said,  excited  discontent ;  the  people  had  risen  with 
energy,  but  with  calmness ;  they  had  appeared  all  day  under 
arms,  had  proclaimed  respect  for  property,  had  respected  the 
liberty  of  the  Convention  and  the  life  of  each  of  its  members, 
and  they  had  demanded  justice,  which  had  been  cheerfully 
rendered  them.  It  was  thus  that  JBarrere  expressed  himself 
concerning  the  abolition  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  of  which 
he  was  himself  the  author. 

On  the  1st  of  June  tranquillity  was  far  from  being  re- 
stored ;  the  meeting  at  the  Eveche  continued ;  the  department 
and  the  commune,  still  extraordinarily  convoked,  were  sitting ; 
the  tumult  had  not  ceased  in  the  sections,  and  in  all  quarters 
people  said  that  they  had  obtained  only  half  what  they 
wanted,  since  the  twenty-two  deputies  still  retained  their 
seats  in  the  Convention.  Paris  was  in  commotion,  and  it  was 
expected  that  further  important  events  would  mark  the  morrow, 
Sunday,  the  2nd  of  June. 

The  power  de  facto  was  in  the  insurrectionary  assembly  of 
the  Eveche,  and  de  jure  in  the  committee  of  public  welfare, 
invested  with  all  the  extraordinary  powers  of  the  Conven- 
tion. A  room  had  been  assigned,  on  the  31st,  where  the 
constituted  authorities  might  meet  for  the  purpose  of  cor- 
responding with  the  committee  of  public  welfare.  In  the 
course  of  the  day  of  the  1st  of  June  the  committee  of  public 
welfare  repeatedly  summoned  the  members  of  the  insurrec- 
tionary assembly  to  inquire  what  more  the  revolted  commune 
wanted.  What  it  wanted  was  but  too  evident,  and  that  was 
either  the  expulsion  or  the  arrest  of  the  deputies  who  had  so 
courageously  resisted  it.  All  the  members  of  the  committee 
of  public  welfare  were  deeply  affected  at  this  design.  Delmas, 
Treilhard,  Breard,  were  sincerely  grieved.  Cambon,  a  stanch 
partisan,  as  he  always  declared,  of  the  revolutionary  power,  but 
strongly  attached  to  legality,  was  indignant  at  the  audacity 
of  1h.'  commune,  and  said  to  Bouchotte,  the  successor  of 
Beurnonville,  and  who.  like  Pache,  was  very  complacent  to 
the  Jacobins,  "  Minister  at  war,  we  are  not  blind;  I  see  clearly 
that  clerks  in  your  office  an-  among  the  leaders  and  instigators 
of  all  ihis."     Barrere,  notwithstanding  his  accustomed  delicacy, 

VOL.    II.  •">  I 


3  5  4  HIST  OB,  Y  OF  jun  e  i  7  9  3 

began  to  be  indignant,  and  to  say  so.  "  We  must  see,"  he 
observed  on  that  melancholy  day,  "  whether  it  is  the  com- 
mune of  Paris  that  represents  the  French  republic,  or  whether 
it  is  the  Convention."  Lacroix,  the  Jacobin,  Danton's  friend 
and  lieutenant,  appeared  embarrassed  in  the  presence  of  his 
colleagues  by  the  attack  which  was  preparing  upon  the  laws 
and  the  national  representation.  Danton,  who  had  gone  no 
further  than  to  approve  and  earnestly  desire  the  abolition  of 
the  Commission  of  Twelve,  because  he  was  adverse  to  every- 
thing that  impeded  the  popular  energy,  would  have  wished 
the  national  representation  to  be  respected  ;  but  he  foresaw, 
on  the  part  of  the  Girondins,  fresh  explosions  and  fresh  re- 
sistance to  the  march  of  the  Revolution,  and  he  would  have 
desired  some  medium  of  removing,  without  proscribing  them. 
Garat  offered  it  to  him,  and  he  gladly  caught  at  it.  All  the 
ministers  were  present  at  the  committee.  Garat  was  there 
with  his  colleagues.  Deeply  afflicted  at  the  situation  in  which 
the  leaders  of  the  Revolution  stood  in  regard  to  one  another,  he 
conceived  a  generous  idea,  which  ought  to  have  had  the  effect 
of  restoring  harmony.  "  Recollect."  said  he,  to  the  members 
of  the  committee,  and  to  Danton  in  particular,  "  the  quarrels 
of  Themistocles  and  Aristides,  the  obstinacy  of  the  one  in 
refusing  what  was  proposed  by  the  other,  and  the  dangers  in 
which  they  involved  their  country.  Recollect  the  generosity 
of  Aristides,  who,  deeply  impressed  with  the  calamities  which 
both  of  them  brought  upon  their  country,  had  the  magna- 
nimity to  exclaim,  '  0  Athenians !  ye  will  never  be  quiet  and 
happy  until  ye  have  thrown  Themistocles  and  me  into  the 
Barathrum.'  Well,"  continued  Garat,  "  let  the  leaders  of  both 
sides  of  the  Assembly  repeat  the  words  of  Aristides,  and  spon- 
taneously exile  themselves  in  equal  number  from  the  Assembly. 
From  that  day  dissensions  will  cease  ;  there  will  be  left  in  the 
Assembly  sufficient  talents  to  save  the  commonwealth ;  and 
the  country  will  bless  in  their  magnificent  ostracism  the  men 
who  shall  have  extinguished  themselves  to  give  it  peace." 

All  the  members  of  the  committee  were  moved  with  this 
generous  idea.  Delmas,  Barrere,  and  the  ardent  Cambon 
were  delighted  with  the  project.  Danton,  who  in  this  case 
would  have  been  the  first  sacrifice,  rose,  and  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  said  to  Garat,  "  You  are  right ;  I  will  go  to  the  Conven- 
tion, submit  to  it  this  idea,  and  offer  myself  to  be  the  first 
to  go  as  an  hostage  to  Bordeaux."  They  parted  full  of  this 
noble  project,  in  order  to  communicate  it  to  the  leaders  of 
the  two  parties.  They  addressed  themselves  in  particular  to 
Robespierre,  to  whom  such  self-denial  could  not  be  palatable, 


june  1793       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  5  5 

and  who  replied  that  this  was  but  a  snare  laid  for  the  Moun- 
tain, with  a  view  to  remove  its  most  courageous  defenders. 
Of  course  there  was  left  but  one  part  of  this  plan  that  could 
be  carried  into  execution,  namely,  the  voluntary  exile  of  the 
Girondins,  that  of  the  Mountaineers  being  refused.  It  was 
Earrere  who  was  deputed,  in  the  name  of  the  committee  of 
public  welfare,  to  propose  to  the  one  a  sacrifice  to  which  the 
others  had  not  the  generosity  to  submit.  Barrere  therefore 
drew  up  a  paper  proposing  to  the  twenty-two,  and  to  the 
members  of  the  Commission  of  Twelve,  the  voluntary  abdica- 
tion of  their  functions. 

At  this  moment  the  assembly  at  the  Eveche  was  arranging 
the  definitive  plan  of  the  second  insurrection.  Complaints 
were  made  there  and  at  the  Jacobins,  that  the  energy  of 
Danton  had  relaxed  since  the  abolition  of  the  Commission  of 
Twelve.  Marat  proposed  to  go  and  require  of  the  Convention 
a  decree  of  accusation  against  the  twenty-two,  and  he  pro- 
posed to  require  it  by  force.  A  short  and  energetic  petition 
was  drawn  up  to  this  effect.  The  plan  of  the  insurrection  was 
settled,  not  in  the  Assembly,  but  in  the  committee  of  execution, 
charged  with  what  were  called  the  means  of  public  welfare,  and 
composed  of  the  Varlets,  the  Dobsens,  the  Gusmans,  and  all 
those  men  who  had  been  incessantly  engaged  in  agitation  ever 
since  the  21st  of  January.  This  committee  agreed  to  surround 
the  Convention  with  the  armed  force,  and  to  prevent  its 
members  from  leaving  the  hall  till  it  had  passed  the  decree 
required  of  it.  To  this  end  the  battalions  destined  for  La 
Vendee,  and  which  had  been  detained  upon  various  pretexts 
in  the  barracks  of  Courbevoie,  were  to  be  recalled  to  Paris. 
The  committee  conceived  that  it  could  obtain  from  these  bat- 
talions, and  some  others  which  it  had  besides,  what  it  might 
perhaps  not  have  obtained  from  the  guard  of  the  sections. 
Ey  taking  care  to  surround  the  National  Palace  witli  these 
devoted  men,  and  keeping,  as  on  the  31st  of  May,  the  rest  of 
the  armed  force  in  docility  and  ignorance,  it  expected  easily  to 
put  an  end  to  the  resistance  of  the  Convention.  Henriot  was 
again  directed  to  take  the  command  of  the  troops  about  the 
National  Palace. 

Such  was  what  the  committee  had  promised  itself  for  Sunday  . 
the  2nd  of  June;  but  on  the  evening  of  Saturday  it  resolved 
1"  try  the  effect  of  fresh  recpiisitions,  to  see  whether  it  might 
not  obtain  something  by  a  last  step.  Accordingly  on  that 
evening  orders  were  given  to  beat  the  g4n4rale  and  to  sound 
the  tocsin,  and  the  committee  of  public  welfare  lost  no  time  in 
calling  upon  the  Convention  to  mee1  amidsl  this  new  tempest. 


3  5  6  HISTOR  Y  OF  june  i  7 9  3 

At  this  moment  the  Girondins,  assembled  for  the  last  time, 
were  dining  together  to  consult  what  course  to  pursue.  It 
was  evident  to  their  eyes  that  the  present  insurrection  could 
not  have  for  its  object  either  the  breaking  of  presses,  as  Danton 
had  said,  or  the  suppression  of  a  commission,  and  that  it  was 
a  final  blow  aimed  at  their  persons.  Some  advised  that  they 
should  remain  firm  at  their  post  and  die  in  the  curule  chair, 
defending  to  the  last  the  character  with  which  they  were 
clothed.  Petion,  Buzot,  and  Gensonne  inclined  to  this  grave 
and  magnanimous  resolution.  Barbaroux,  without  calculating 
the  results,  following  only  the  inspirations  of  his  heroic  soul, 
was  for  going  and  braving  his  enemies  by  his  presence  and  his 
courage.  Lastly,  others,  and  Louvet  was  the  warmest  in  sup- 
porting this  opinion,  were  for  immediately  abandoning  the 
Convention,  where  they  could  render  no  further  service,  where 
the  Plain  had  not  courage  enough  to  give  their  votes,  and 
where  the  Mountain  and  the  tribunes  were  determined  to 
drown  their  voices  by  yells.  They  proposed  to  retire  to  their 
respective  departments,  to  foment  insurrection,  which  had  all 
but  broken  out  there,  and  to  return  in  force  to  Paris  to  avenge 
the  laws  and  the  national  representation.  Each  maintained 
his  opinion,  and  they  knew  not  which  to  adopt.  The  sound  of 
the  tocsin  and  the  gendrale  obliged  the  unfortunate  party  to 
leave  the  table,  and  to  seek  an  asylum  before  they  had  come 
to  any  resolution.  They  first  repaired  to  the  abode  of  one  of 
them,  Meilhan,  who  was  least  compromized,  and  not  included 
in  the  famous  list  of  the  twenty-two,  who  had  before  "received 
them,  and  who  had  very  spacious  lodgings,  where  they  could 
meet  in  arms.  Thither  they  repaired  in  haste,  excepting  some 
who  had  other  means  of  concealing  themselves. 

The  Convention  had  assembled  at  the  sound  of  the  tocsin. 
Very  few  members  were  present,  and  all  those  of  the  right 
side  were  not  there.  Lanjuinais  alone,  resolved  to  brave  every 
danger,  had  gone  thither  to  denounce  the  plot,  the  revelation 
of  which  gave  no  new  information  to  any  one.  After  a  very 
stormy  but  very  brief  sitting,  the  Convention  answered  the 
petitioners  that,  in  consequence  of  the  decree  which  enjoined 
the  committee  of  public  welfare  to  make  a  report  to  it  on  the 
twenty-two,  it  could  take  no  further  measure  on  the  new 
demand  of  the  commune.  It  broke  up  in  disorder,  and  the 
conspirators  deferred  till  the  next  morning  the  definitive  exe- 
cution of  their  design. 

The  ge'ne'rale  and  the  tocsin  kept  pealing  the  whole  night 
between  Saturday  and  Sunday  the  2nd  of  June  1793.  The 
alarm-gun  was  fired,    and   at  daybreak   all   the  population   of 


june  1793       THE  FRENCH  BE  VOL  UTION.  3  5  7 

Paris  was  in  arms.  Nearly  eighty  thousand  men  were  drawn 
up  around  the  Convention  ;  but  more  than  sixty-five  thousand 
took  no  part  in  the  event,  and  merely  attended  with  muskets 
on  their  shoulders.  Some  trusty  battalions  of  gunners  were 
ranged,  under  the  command  of  Henriot,*  around  the  National 
Palace.  They  had  one  hundred  and  sixty -three  pieces  of 
cannon,  caissons,  furnaces  for  heating  balls,  lighted  matches, 
and  all  the  military  apparatus  capable  of  awing  the  imagina- 
tion. It  was  contrived  that  the  battalions  whose  departure 
for  La  Vendee  had  been  delayed  should  enter  Paris  early  in 
the  morning ;  they  had  been  irritated  by  being  persuaded  that 
there  existed  plots,  that  they  had  been  discovered,  that  the 
leaders  were  in  the  Convention,  and  that  they  must  be  torn 
from  its  bosom.  These  battalions,  thus  tutored,  had  marched 
from  the  Champs  Elys^es  to  the  Madeleine,  from  the  Madeleine 
to  the  Boulevard,  and  from  the  Boulevard  to  the  Carrousel. 
ready  to  execute  whatever  the  conspirators  should  command. 

Thus  the  Assembly,  surrounded  by  no  more  than  a  few 
thousand  enthusiasts,  appeared  to  be  besieged  by  eighty 
thousand  men.  Without  being  really  besieged,  however,  it 
was  not  the  less  involved  in  all  the  dangers  of  a  siege  ;  for 
the  few  thousands  immediately  about  it  were  ready  to  commit 
any  act  of  violence  against  it. 

The  deputies  of  every  side  had  repaired  to  the  sitting.  The 
Mountain,  the  Plain,  the  right  side,  occupied  their  benches. 
Tin'  proscribed  deputies,  most  of  whom  were  at  Meilhan's, 
where  they  had  passed  the  night,  were  desirous  also  of  re- 
pairing to  their  post.  Buzot  struggled  hard  to  get  away  from 
those  who  held  him.  that  he  might  go  and  expire  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Convention.  Barbaroux  alone,  having  succeeded 
in  escaping,  had  gone  to  the  Convention  to  display  on  that 
day  great  moral  courage.  The  others  were  prevailed  upon  to 
remain  together  in  their  retreat,  and  there  to  await  the  issue 
of  that  terrible  sitting. 

The  sitting  commenced,  and  Lanjuinais,  bent  on  making  the 
utmost  efforts  to  enforce  respect  for  the  national  represent  al  ion 
— Lanjuinais,  whom  neither  the  tribunes,  nor  tin-  Mountain. 
nor  the  imminence  of  the  danger  could  daunt,  was  the  first 
1o  demand  permission  to  speak.  At  this  demand  the  most 
violent  murmurs  were  raised.  "I  come."  said  he,  "to  submit 
to  you  the  means  of  quelling  the  new  commotions  with  which 
yon  are  threatened!  "     There  were  shouts  of  "Down!  down! 

'  "Henriot,  commander-genera]  of  the  armed  force  of  Paris,  was  a  fierce, 
ignorant  man,  entirely  devoted  to  the  Jacobin  interest." — $a>tt'*  l.ij<  of 
Napoleon. 


3  5  8  IT  IS  TOR,  Y  OF  JUNE  1 79  3 

lie  wants  to  produce  a  civil  war."  "  So  long,"  resumed  Lan- 
juinais, "as  it  is  allowed  to  raise  one's  voice  here,  I  will  not 
let  the  character  of  representative  of  the  people  be  degraded 
in  my  person  !  Thus  far  you  have  done  nothing,  you  have 
suffered  everything ;  you  have  sanctioned  all  that  was  re- 
quired of  you.  An  insurrectional  assembly  meets  ;  it  appoints 
a  committee  charged  to  prepare  a  revolt,  a  provisional  com- 
mandant charged  to  head  the  revolters  ;  and  all  this  you  suffer 
— this  assembly,  this  committee,  this  commandant !  "  Tremen- 
dous cries  every  moment  interrupted  the  speech  of  Lanjuinais ; 
at  length,  so  strong  became  the  rage  which  he  excited,  that 
several  deputies  of  the  Mountain,  Drouet,*  Robespierre  the 
younger,  Julien,f  and  Legendre.  ran  to  the  tribune,  and  at- 
tempted to  drag  him  from  it.  Lanjuinais  resisted,  and  clung 
to  it  with  tenacity.  All  parts  of  the  Assembly  were  agitated, 
and  the  howls  of  the  tribunes  contributed  to  render  this  the 
most  frightful  scene  that  had  yet  been  exhibited.  The  pre- 
sident put  on  his  hat,  and  succeeded  in  gaining  a  hearing. 
"  The  scene  which  has  just  taken  place."  said  he,  "  is  most 
afflicting.  Liberty  will  perish  if  you  continue  to  behave  thus. 
I  call  you  to  order,  you  who  have  made  such  an  attack  on 
that  tribune  !  "  Some  degree  of  order  was  restored,  and  Lan- 
juinais, who  was  not  afraid  of  chimerical  propositions  when 
they  evinced  courage,  moved  that  the  revolutionary  authorities 
of  Paris  should  be  dissolved — or,  in  other  words,  that  those 
who  were  disarmed  should  control  those  in  arms.  Scarcely 
had  he  concluded  when  the  petitioners  of  the  commune  again 
made  their  appearance.  Their  language  was  more  laconic  and 
more  resolute  than  ever.  "  The  citizens  of  Paris  have  been 
under  arms  for  these  four  days.  For  four  days  past  they  have 
been  claiming  of  their  representatives  their  rights,  unworthily 
violated ;  and  for  four  days  past  their  representatives  have 
been  laughing  at  their  calmness  and  their  inaction.  .  .  .  It  is 
necessary  to  put  the  conspirators  in  a  state  of  provisional 
arrest :  it  is  necessary  to  save  the  people  forthwith,  or  the 
people  will  save  themselves  !  "  No  sooner  had  the  petitioners 
ceased  speaking,  than  Billaud-Varennes  and  Tallien  demanded 
a  report  on  the  petition  before  any  other  business  was  taken 
up.  Others,  in  great  number,  called  for  the  order  of  the  day. 
At  length  the  Assembly,  roused  by  the  danger,  rose  amidst 
tumult,  and  voted  the  order  of  the  day,  on  the  ground  that  the 
committee  of  public  safety  had  been  ordered  to  present  a  re- 
port in  three  days.     On  this  decision  the  petitioners  withdrew, 

*  See  Appendix  RRRR.  See  Appendix  SSSS. 


June  1793       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  3  5  9 

shouting,  making  threatening  gestures,  and  evidently  carrying 
concealed  arms.  All  the  men  who  were  in  the  tribunes  retired, 
as  if  for  the  purpose  of  executing  some  plan,  and  the  women 
alone  were  left.  A  great  noise  without  was  heard,  together 
with  repeated  cries  of  "  To  arms  !  to  arms  !  '  At  this  moment 
several  deputies  represented  to  the  Assembly  that  the  determi- 
nation which  it  had  taken  was  imprudent,  that  an  end  ought 
to  be  put  to  a  dangerous  crisis  by  granting  what  was  demanded, 
and  ordering  the  provisional  arrest  of  the  twenty-two  accused 
deputies.  "  We  will  all,  all  of  us  go  to  prison,"  exclaimed 
Lareveillere-Lepeaux.*  Cambon  then  informed  the  Assembly 
that  in  half  an  hour  the  committee  of  public  safety  would  make 
its  report.  The  report  had  been  ordered  in  three  days  ;  but 
the  danger,  becoming  more  and  more  pressing,  had  induced 
tin'  committee  to  use  despatch.  Barrere  accordingly  appeared 
at  the  tribune,  and  proposed  Garat's  idea,  which  had  the  even- 
ing before  moved  all  the  members  of  the  committee,  which 
Danton  had  warmly  embraced,  which  Robespierre  had  rejected, 
and  which  consisted  in  the  voluntary  and  reciprocal  exile  of 
the  leaders  of  the  two  parties.  Barrere,  as  he  could  not  pro- 
pose it  to  the  Mountaineers,  proposed  it  to  the  twenty-two. 
"  The  committee,"  said  he,  "  has  not  had  time  to  investigate 
any  fact,  to  hear  any  witness  ;  but  considering  the  political  and 
moral  state  of  the  Convention,  it  conceives  that  the  voluntary 
secession  of  the  deputies  in  question  would  be  productive  of 
the  happiest  effect,  and  save  the  republic  from  a  disastrous 
crisis,  the  issue  of  which  it  is  frightful  to  anticipate." 

No  sooner  had  he  finished  speaking  than  Isnard  mounted 
the  tribune.  He  said  that  since  an  individual  was  to  be  put 
in  the  balance  against  the  country,  he  should  no  longer  hesi- 
tate, and  that  he  was  ready  to  give  up,  not  only  his  functions, 
but  his  life,  if  necessary.  Lanthenas  followed  the  example  of 
Isnard,  and  resigned  his  functions.  Fauchet  offered  his  re- 
signation and  his  life  to  the  republic.  Lanjuinais,  who  was 
nol  convinced  of  the  propriety  of  yielding,  appeared  at  the 
tribune.  "I  conceive,"  said  he,  "that  up  to  this  moment  I 
have  shown  resolution  enough  for  you  not  to  expect  of  me 
either  suspension  or  resignation."  At  these  words,  cries  bursl 
from  1hf  Assembly.  He  cast  a  look  of  assurance  at  those  who 
interrupted  him.  ''The  sacrificer  of  old,"  said  he.  ••when  he 
dragged  a  victim  to  the  altar,  covered  it  with  (lowers  and 
chaplets,  and  did  not  insult  it.  The  sacrifice  of  our  powers 
Is  required  ;  but  the  sacrifice  ought  to  be  \vci-.  and  we  are  not 

*  See  Appendix  TTTT 


360  HISTORY  OF  JUNE  1793 

free.  We  cannot  leave  tins  place  either  by  the  doors  or  the 
windows  ;  the  guns  are  pointed ;  we  dare  not  utter  our  senti- 
ments:  I  shall  say  no  more."  Barbaroux  followed  Lanjuinais, 
and  with  equal  courage  refused  the  resignation  required  of  him. 
"If,"  said  he,  "the  Convention  enjoins  my  resignation,  I  will 
submit ;  but  how  can  I  resign  my  powers  when  a  great  number 
of  the  departments  write  to  me  and  assure  me  that  I  have 
used  them  well,  and  exhort  me  to  continue  to  use  them  ?  I 
have  sworn  to  die  at  my  post,  and  I  will  keep  my  oath." 
Dussaulx*  offered  his  resignation.  "What!"  exclaimed 
Marat,  "  ought  we  to  allow  culprits  the  honour  of  devoting 
themselves.  A  man  must  be  pure  to  offer  sacrifices  to  his 
country  ;  it  is  for  me,  a  real  martyr,  to  devote  myself  :  I  offer, 
then,  my  suspension  from  the  moment  that  you  shall  have 
ordered  the  arrest  of  the  accused  deputies.  "  But,"  added 
Marat,  "the  list  is  faulty;  instead  of  that  old  gossip  Dussaulx, 
that  weak-minded  Lanthenas,  and  Ducos — guilty  only  of  some 
erroneous  opinions — Fermont  and  Valaze,  who  deserve  to  be 
there,  but  are  not,  ought  to  be  placed  in  it." 

At  this  moment  a  great  noise  was  heard  at  the  doors  of  the 
hall.  Lacroix  entered  in  violent  agitation,  loudly  complaining 
that  the  Assembly  was  not  free  ;  that  he  attempted  to  leave  the 
hall,  but  had  been  prevented.  Though  a  Mountaineer  and  a 
partisan  of  the  arrest  of  the  twenty-two,  Lacroix  was  indignant 
at  the  conduct  of  the  commune,  which  had  caused  the  deputies 
to  be  shut  up  in  the  National  Palace. 

After  the  refusal  to  take  any  proceedings  upon  the  petition 
of  the  commune,  the  sentries  at  all  the  doors  had  been  ordered 
not  to  suffer  a  single  deputy  to  depart.  Several  had  in  vain 
attempted  to  slip  away.  Gorsas  alone  had  contrived  to  escape, 
and  hastened  to  warn  the  Girondins  who  had  remained  at 
Meilhan's  to  conceal  themselves  wherever  they  could,  and  not 
to  go  to  the  Assembly.  Boissy  d'Anglas,f  having  gone  to  one 
of  the  doors,  was  grossly  ill-treated,  and  returned  showing  his 
clothes  rent  in  pieces.  At  this  sight  the  whole  Assembly  was 
filled  with  indignation,  and  even  the  Mountain  was  astonished. 
The  authors  of  this  order  were  sent  for,  and  an  illusory  decree 
was  passed  summoning  the  commandant  of  the  armed  force  to 
the  bar. 

Barrere  then  spoke,  and  expressed  himself  with  a  resolution 
that  was  not  usual  with  him.  He  said  that  the  Assembly  was 
not  free ;  that  it  was  deliberating  under  the  control  of  con- 
cealed  tyrants ;  that   in    the   insurrectional    committee    there 

*  Sec  Appendix  UUUU.  f  See  Appendix  WW. 


jun  e  1 7  9  3       THE  FEE  NCR  RE  VOL  UTIOK  3  6 1 

were  men  who  could  not  be  relied  on,  suspected  foreigners 
such  as  Gusman,  the  Spaniard,  and  others ;  that  at  the  door 
of  the  hall  five-livre  assignats  were  distributed  among  the 
battalions  destined  for  La  Vendee  ;  and  that  it  was  right  to 
ascertain  whether  the  Convention  was  yet  respected  or  not. 
In  consequence  he  proposed  that  the  whole  Assembly  should 
go  in  a  body  among  the  armed  force,  to  satisfy  itself  that  it 
had  nothing  to  fear,  and  that  its  authority  was  still  recog- 
nized. This  proposal,  already  made  by  Garat  on  the  25th  of 
May,  and  renewed  by  Vergniaud  on  the  31st,  was  immediately 
adopted.  Herault-S^chelles,  to  whom  recourse  was  had  on  all 
difficult  occasions,  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  Assembly  as 
president,  and  the  whole  right  side  and  the  Plain  rose  to 
follow  him.  The  Mountain  alone  kept  its  place.  The  last 
deputies  of  the  right  turned  back  and  reproached  it  for  de- 
clining to  share  the  common  danger.  The  tribunes,  on  the 
contrary,  made  signs  to  the  Mountaineers  not  to  leave  their 
seats,  as  if  some  great  danger  threatened  them  outside  the 
hall.  The  Mountaineers  nevertheless  yielded  from  a  feeling  of 
shame  ;  and  the  whole  Convention,  with  Herault-Sechelles  at 
its  head,  proceeded  into  the  courts  of  the  National  Palace,  and 
to  the  side  towards  the  Carrousel.  It  arrived  opposite  to  the 
gunners,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Henriot.  The  president 
addressed  him.  and  desired  him  to  open  a  passage  for  the 
Assembly.  "You  shall  not  leave  this  place,"  said  Henriot, 
"till  you  have  delivered  up  the  twenty-two."  "Seize  this 
rebel  !  "  said  the  president  to  the  soldiers.  Henriot  backed 
his  horse  and  turned  to  his  gunners.  "Gunners,  to  your 
pieces !  "  said  he.  Some  one,  immediately  grasping  Herault- 
Sechelles  firmly  by  the  arm,  drew  him  another  way.  The 
Assembly  proceeded  to  the  garden,  to  experience  the  same 
treatment.  Some  groups  were  shouting,  "  The  nation  for 
ever!  others,  "The  Convention  for  ever!"  "  Marat  for  ever!" 
"Down  with  the  right  side!"  Outside  the  garden,  battalions 
otherwise  disposed  than  those  which  surrounded  the  Carrousel 
made  signs  to  the  deputies  to  come  and  join  them.  The 
Convention  was  advancing  for  the  purpose  to  the  Pont  Tour- 
riant,  but  there  it  found  another  battalion,  which  prevented  its 
egress  from  the  garden.  At  this  moment  Marat,  surrounded 
by  a  few  hoys  crying  "Marat  for  ever!"  approached  the 
president,  and  said  to  him,  "I  summon  the  deputies  who  have 
(putted  their  post  to  return  to  it." 

The  Assembly,  whose  repeated  attempt-  only  served  to  pro- 
long its  humiliation,  accordingly  returned  to  the  hall  of  its 
sittings,   and  each   resumed  his  place.      Couthon  then  ascended 


J 


6  2  IT  IS  TOR  Y  OF  jun  e  i  7  9  3 


the  tribune.  "  You  see  clearly,"  said  he,  with  an  assurance 
which  confounded  the  Assembly,  "that  you  are  respected, 
obeyed  by  the  people,  and  that  you  can  vote  on  the  question 
which  is  submitted  to  you.  Lose  no  time,  then,  in  complying 
with  their  wishes."  Legendre  proposed  to  exempt  from  the 
list  of  the  twenty-two  those  who  had  offered  their  resignation  ; 
and  from  the  list  of  the  twelve,  Boy  er-Fonf  rede*  and  St. 
Martin,  who  had  opposed  the  arbitrary  arrests,  and  to  put  in 
their  stead  Lebrun  and  Clavieres.  Marat  insisted  that  Lan- 
thenas,  Ducos,  and  Dussaulx  should  be  erased  from  the  list, 
and  Fermont  and  Valaze  added  to  it.  These  suggestions 
were  adopted,  and  the  Assembly  was  ready  to  proceed  to  vote. 
The  Plain,  being  intimidated,  began  to  say  that,  after  all,  the 
deputies  placed  under  arrest  at  their  own  homes  were  not  so 
very  much  to  be  pitied,  and  that  it  was  high  time  to  put  an 
end  to  this  frightful  scene.  The  right  side  demanded  a  call  of 
the  Assembly,  to  make  the  members  of  the  helly  ashamed  of 
their  weakness ;  but  one  of  them  pointed  out  to  his  colleagues 
an  honest  way  of  extricating  themselves  from  this  dilemma. 
He  said  that  he  should  not  vote,  because  he  was  not  free.  The 
others,  following  his  example,  refused  to  vote.  The  Mountain 
alone,  and  some  other  members,  then  voted  that  the  deputies 
denounced  by  the  commune  should  be  put  under  arrest. 

Such  was  the  celebrated  scene  of  the  2nd  of  June,  better 
known  by  the  name  of  the  31st  of  May.  It  was  a  real  10th  of 
August  against  the  national  representation ;  for,  the  deputies 
once  under  arrest  at  their  own  homes,  there  was  nothing  more 
to  do  than  to  make  them  mount  the  scaffold,  and  that  was  no 
difficult  task. 

Here  finishes  one  principal  era  of  the  Revolution,  which 
served  as  a  preparation  to  the  most  terrible  and  the  most 
important  of  all ;  and  of  the  whole  of  which  it  is  necessary  to 
take  a  general  survey  in  order  to  form  a  due  estimate  of  it. 

On  the  10th  of  August  1792,  the  Revolution,  no  longer  able 
to  repress  its  distrust,  attacked  the  palace  of  the  monarch  to 
deliver  itself  from  apprehensions  which  had  become  insup- 
portable. The  first  movement  was  to  suspend  Louis  XVI., 
and  to  defer  his  fate  till  the  approaching  meeting  of  the 
National  Convention.  The  monarch  being  suspended,  and 
the  power  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  different  popular 
authorities,  the   question  then   arose   how  this  power  was  to 

*  "  Boyer-Fonfrede  was  born  at  Bordeaux.  Being  appointed  deputy  from 
the  Gironde  to  the  Convention,  he  vigorously  opposed  Marat  and  the  Mountain. 
He  escaped  the  first  proscription  of  the  Girondins,  but  perished  on  the  scaffold, 
in  1793." — Scott's  Life  of  Najioleon. 


june  1793       THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.  363 

be  employed.  The  dissensions  which  had  already  begun  to 
manifest  themselves  between  the  partisans  of  moderation  and 
those  of  inexorable  energy  then  broke  forth  without  reserve. 
The  commune,  composed  of  all  the  energetic  men,  attacked 
the  Legislature,  and  insulted  it  by  threatening  to  sound  the 
tocsin.  At  this  moment  the  coalition,  instigated  by  the  10th 
of  August,  hastened  to  advance.  The  increasing  danger  pro- 
voked a  still  greater  degree  of  violence,  caused  moderation  to 
be  decried,  and  impelled  the  passions  to  their  greatest  excesses. 
Longwy  and  Verdun  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  On 
the  approach  of  Brunswick  the  advocates  of  energetic  measures 
anticipated  the  cruelties  which  he  had  threatened  in  his  mani- 
festoes, and  struck  terror  into  his  hidden  partisans  by  the 
horrible  days  of  September.  Presently  France,  saved  by  the 
admirable  coolness  of  Dumouriez,  had  time  to  agitate  once 
more  the  grand  cjuestion  of  a  moderate  or  a  merciless  use  of 
power.  September  became  a  grievous  subject  of  reproach. 
The  moderates  were  indignant ;  the  violent  wished  them  to 
be  silent  concerning  evils  which  they  declared  to  be  inevitable 
and  irreparable.  Cruel  personalities  added  individual  ani- 
mosities to  animosities  of  opinion.  Discord  was  excited  to 
the  highest  degree.  Then  came  the  moment  for  deciding 
upon  the  fate  of  Louis  XVI.  An  experiment  of  the  two 
systems  was  made  upon  his  person ;  that  of  moderation  was 
vanquished,  that  of  violence  proved  victorious;  and  in  sacri- 
ficing tin'  King,  the  Revolution  broke  definitively  with  royalty 
and  with  all  thrones. 

The  coalition,  instigated  by  the  21st  of  January  1793,  as  it 
had  been  by  the  10th  of  August  1792,  began  to  bestir  itself 
agaii  .  and  caused  us  to  fall  back  on  our  reserves.  Dumouriez, 
stopped  in  his  progress  by  contrary  circumstances  and  by  the 
derangement  of  all  the  administrations,  was  exasperated  against 
the  Jacobins,  to  whom  he  attributed  all  his  reverses;  throwing 
off  his  political  indifference,  he  suddenly  declared  himself  in 
favour  of  moderation,  compromized  it  by  employing  his  sword 
and  foreigners  in  its  behalf,  and  was  at  length  wrecked  upon 
1li>'  Revolution,  after  placing  the  republic  in  the  greatest 
danger.  At  this  moment  La  Vendee  rose.  The  depart- 
ments, hitherto  moderate,  became  threatening.  Never  had 
the  devolution  been  in  greater  danger.  Reverses,  treasons, 
furnished  the  Jacobins  with  a  pretext  for  calumniating  the 
moderate  republicans,  and  a  motive  for  demanding  a  judicial 
and  executive  dictatorship.  They  proposed  the  experiment 
of  a  revolutionary  tribunal  and  of  a  committee  of  public 
safety.     Warm   disputes  on    this    subject    ensued.     On  these 


364  THE  FRENCH  RE  VOL  UTION.        june  1  7  9  3 

questions  the  two  parties  proceeded  to  the  utmost  extremities ; 
they  could  no  longer  exist  together.  On  the  10th  of  March 
1793  the  Jacobins  aimed  a  blow  at  the  leaders  of  the  Girondins  ; 
but  their  attempt,  being  premature,  failed.  They  then  prepared 
themselves  better ;  they  provoked  petitions,  they  excited  the 
sections,  and  urged  them  into  legal  insurrection.  The  Girondins 
resisted  by  instituting  a  commission  authorized  to  investigate 
the  plots  of  their  adversaries ;  this  commission  acted  against 
the  Jacobins,  roused  their  vengeance,  and  was  swept  away  in 
a  storm.  Replaced  on  the  following  day,  it  was  again  swept 
away  by  the  tremendous  tempest  of  the  31st  of  May  1793. 
Finally,  on  the  2nd  of  June  1793,  its  members,  and  the  deputies 
whom  it  was  to  defend,  were  torn  from  the  bosom  of  the  national 
representation,  and  like  Louis  XVI.,  reserved  for  a  period  until 
the  violence  should  be  sufficient  to  send  them  to  the  scaffold. 

These,  then,  are  the  events  which  have  occurred  between  the 
10th  of  August  1792  and  the  31st  of  May  1793.  It  is  a  long 
conflict  between  the  two  systems  on  the  employment  of  means. 
The  continually  increasing  danger  imparted  continually  increas- 
ing virulence  and  rancour  to  the  quarrel  ;  and  the  generous 
deputation  of  the  Gironde,  exhausted  by  its  efforts  to  avenge 
September  1792,  to  prevent  the  21st  of  January  1793,  the  revolu- 
tionary tribunal,  and  the  committee  of  public  welfare,  expired 
when  the  still  greater  danger  had  rendered  violence  more  urgent 
and  moderation  less  admissible.  Now,  all  legality  being  over- 
come, all  remonstrance  stifled  with  the  suspension  of  the  Giron- 
dins, and  the  danger  having  become  more  alarming  than  ever, 
by  means  of  the  very  insurrection  that  attempts  to  avenge  the 
Gironde,  violence  breaks  forth  without  obstacle  or  measure, 
and  the  terrible  dictatorship,  composed  of  the  revolutionary 
tribunal  and  the  committee  of  public  safety,  is  completed. 

Here  commence  scenes  a  hundred  times  more  awful  and 
more  horrible  than  any  of  those  which  roused  the  indignation 
of  the  Girondins.  As  for  them,  their  history  is  finished.  All 
that  remains  to  be  added  to  it  is  the  account  of  their  heroic 
death.  Their  opposition  was  dangerous,  their  indignation 
impolitic ;  they  compromized  the  Revolution,  liberty,  and 
France  ;  they  compromized  moderation  itself  by  defending  it 
with  acrimony  ;  and  in  dying  they  involved  in  their  ruin  all 
that  was  most  generous  and  most  enlightened  in  France.  Yet 
who  would  not  have  acted  their  part?  who  would  not  have 
committed  their  faults  ?  Is  it  possible,  in  fact,  to  suffer  blood 
to  be  spilt  without  resistance  and  without  indignation  ?  * 

*  See  Appendix  WWWW. 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDICES. 


A. 

[Page  5.] 

Madame  Elizabeth. 

"Madame  Elizabeth  Philippine  Marie  Helene,  sister  to  Louis  XVI., 
was  born  at  Versailles  in  the  year  1764.  She  was  the  youngest  child  of 
Louis,  Dauphin  of  France,  and  Marie  Josephine  of  Saxony.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution,  Madame  Elizabeth  saw  with  terror 
the  convocation  of  the  States-general ;  but  when  it  was  found  to  be 
inevitable,  she  devoted  herself  from  that  moment  entirely  to  the  welfare 
of  her  brother  and  the  royal  family.  She  was  condemned  to  death  in 
1794,  and  ascended  the  scaffold  with  twenty-four  other  victims,  not  one 
<  if  whom  she  knew.  She  was  thirty  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  execu- 
tion, and  demeaned  herself  throughout  with  courage  and  resignation." 
— Biograph  ie  Moderne. 

B. 

[Page  16.] 

The  (  Jomte  de  Dillon. 

"The  Comte  Arthur  de  Dillon,  a  general  officer  in  the  French  service, 
was  deputed  from  Martinique  to  the  States-general,  and  embraced  the 
revolutionary  party.  In  1792  he  took  one  of  the  chief  commands  in  the 
army  of  the  North.  In  the  year  1794  he  was  condemned  to  death  by 
the  revolutionary  tribunal  as  a  conspirator.  He  was  forty-three  years 
old,  and  was  born  at  Berwick,  in  England." — Biography.  Moderne. 


c. 

[J'age  21.] 
K  ELLERMANN. 

"Francois  Christophe  Kellermann,  a  French  general,  began  life  as  a 
private  hussar,  hut  was  soon  promoted  for  his  skill  and  good  conduct. 
In  [792  he  obtained  the  command  of  the  army  of  bhe  Moselle,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  the  battle  of  Valmy.  In  1794  he  was  brought 
before  the  revolutionary  tribunal,  but  acquitted.     In  1799  he  became  a 

367 


3  68  APPENDICES. 

member  of  the  Consular  Senate ;  in  1 802  he  obtained  the  title  of  -fraud 
officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honour ;  and  soon  afterwards  was  raised  to  the 
rank  of  Marshal  of  the  Empire.  He  was  father  of  the  celebrated  Keller- 
mann,  whose  glorious  charge  decided  the  battle  of  Marengo." — Biogrwphie 

M  oil  erne. 


D. 

[Page  30.] 
Maillard. 

"  Maillard,  a  runner  belonging  to  the  CMtelet  at  Paris,  began,  from 
the  opening  of  the  States-general,  to  signalize  himself  in  all  the  tumults 
of  the  metropolis.  In  September  1792  he  presided  at  the  meeting  at 
the  Abbaye  to  regulate  the  massacre  of  the  prisoners  ;  and  it  has  been 
said  that  he  seized  on  the  spoils  of  those  who  were  murdered  by  his 
order.  He  afterwards  became  one  of  the  denunciators  of  the  prisons, 
and  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  appeared  several  times  at  La  Force, 
to  mark  the  victims  who  were  to  be  condemned  by  the  revolutionary 
tribunal." — Biographic  Modeme. 


E. 

[Page  34.] 

Billaud-Varennes. 

"  Billaud-Varennes  was  born  at  Rochelle,  which  place  he  quitted 
several  years  before  the  Revolution,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  from 
vexation  that  the  people  there  had  hissed  a  theatrical  piece  of  his  com- 
position. He  then  went  to  Paris,  where  he  got  himself  admitted  a 
barrister,  and  married  a  natural  daughter  of  M.  de  Verdun,  the  only 
one  of  the  farmers-general  who  was  not  guillotined.  In  1792  he  was 
substitute  for  the  attorney  of  the  commune  of  Paris,  and  became  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  September  massacres.  In  1 795  he  was  sentenced  to 
banishment  to  Guiana,  where  he  was  looked  upon  by  the  people  as  little 
better  than  a  wild  beast.  His  principal  occupation  during  his  exile  was 
in  breeding  parrots.  Billaud-Varennes  was  the  author  of  many  dull 
pamphlets." — Biographic  Modcrne. 


F. 

[Page  40.] 
The  September  Massacres. 

"At  half^past  two  o'clock  on  Sunday,  Sejit.  2,  we  prisoners  saw  three 
carriages  pass  by,  attended  by  a  crowd  of  frantic  men  and  women.  They 
went  on  to  the  Abbey  cloister,  which  had  been  converted  into  a  prison 
for  the  clergy.  In  a  moment  after,  we  heard  that  the  mob  had  just 
butchered  all  the  ecclesiastics,  who,  they  said,  had  been  put  into  the 


APPENDICES.  369 

fold  there.  Near  four  o'clock. — The  piercing  cries  of  a  man  whom  they 
were  hacking  to  pieces  with  hangers  drew  us  to  the  turret  window  of 
our  prison,  whence  we  saw  a  mangled  corpse  on  the  ground  opposite 
to  the  door.  Another  was  butchered  in  the  same  manner  a  moment 
afterwards.  Near  seven  o'clock. — We  saw  two  men  enter  our  cell  with 
drawn  swords  in  their  bloody  hands.  A  turnkey  showed  the  way  with 
a  flambeau,  and  pointed  out  to  them  the  bed  of  the  unfortunate  Swiss 
soldier  Reding.  At  this  frightful  moment  I  was  clasping  his  hand,  and 
endeavouring  to  console  him.  One  of  the  assassins  was  going  to  lift 
him  up,  but  the  poor  Swiss  stopped  him  by  saying  in  a  dying  tone  of 
voice,  'I  am  not  afraid  of  death  ;  pray,  sir,  let  me  be  killed  here.'  He 
was,  however,  borne  away  on  the  men's  shoulders,  carried  into  the  street, 
and  there  murdered.  Ten  o'clock,  Monday  morning. — The  most  important 
matter  that  now  employed  our  thoughts  was  to  consider  what  posture 
we  should  put  ourselves  in  when  dragged  to  the  place  of  slaughter,  in 
order  to  receive  death  with  the  least  pain.  We  sent  from  time  to  time 
some  of  our  companions  to  the  turret  window  to  inform  us  of  the 
attitude  of  the  victims.  They  brought  us  back  word  that  those  who 
stretched  out  their  hands  suffered  the  longest,  because  the  blows  of  the 
cutlasses  were  thereby  weakened  before  they  reached  the  head ;  that 
even  some  of  the  victims  lost  their  hands  and  arms  before  their  bodies 
fell ;  and  that  such  as  put  their  hands  behind  their  backs  must  have 
suffered  much  less  pain.  We  calculated  the  advantages  of  this  last 
posture,  and  advised  one  another  to  adopt  it  when  it  should  come  to 
our  turn  to  be  butchered.  One  o'clock,  Tuesday  morning. — After  enduring 
inconceivable  tortures  of  mind,  I  was  brought  before  my  judges,  pro- 
claimed innocent,  and  set  free." — From  a  Journal  entitled  'My  Thirtij- 
eight  Hours'  Agony/  by  M.  Journiac  de  Saint-Me'ard. 


G. 

[Page  45.] 
The  Pkincesse  de  Lamballe. 

"The  Princesse  de  Lamballe  having  been  spared  on  the  night  of  the 
2nd,  Hung  herself  on  her  bed,  oppressed  with  every  species  of  anxiety 
Mini  horror.  She  closed  her  eyes,  but  only  to  open  them  in  an  instant, 
startled  with  frightful  dreams.  About  eight  o'clock  next  morning  two 
national  guards  entered  her  room  to  inform  her  that  she  was  going  to  he 
removed  to  the  Abbaye.  She  slipped  on  her  gown,  and  went  downstairs 
into  the  sessions-room.  When  she  entered  this  frightful  court,  the  sight 
of  weapons  stained  with  blood,  and  of  executioners  whose  hands,  fares, 
and  clothes  were  smeared  overwith  the  same  red  dye,  gave  her  such  a  shock 
that  she  fainted  several  times.  At  length  she  was  subjected  to  a  mock 
examination,  after  which,  just  as  she  was  stepping  across  the  threshold 
of  the  door,  she  received  on  the  hack  of  her  head  a  blow  with  a  hanger, 
which  made  the  blood  spout.  Two  men  then  laid  fast  hold  of  her,  and 
obliged  her  to  walk  over  dead  bodies,  while  she  was  fainting  every  instant. 

They   then  1 ipleted  her  murder   by  running  her   through  with  their 

spears  on  a  heap  of  corpses.  She  was  afterwards  stripped,  and  her  naked 
body  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the  populace.  In  this  state  it  remained 
more  than  two  hours.    When  any  blood  gushing  from  its  wounds  stained 

vol.  11.  52 


370  APPENDICES. 

the  skin,  some  men,  placed  there  for  the  purpose,  immediately  washed  it 
off,  to  make  the  spectators  take  more  particular  notice  of  its  whiteness. 
I  must  not  venture  to  describe  the  excesses  of  barbarity  and  lustful 
indecency  with  which  this  corpse  was  defiled.  I  shall  only  say  that  a 
cannon  was  charged  with  one  of  the  legs  !  Towards  noon  the  murderers 
determined  to  cut  off  her  head,  and  carry  it  in  triumph  round  Paris. 
Her  other  scattered  limbs  were  also  given  to  troops  of  cannibals,  who 
trailed  them  along  the  streets.  The  pike  that  supported  the  head 
was  planted  under  the  very  windows  of  the  Due  d'Orleans.  He  was 
sitting  down  to  dinner  at  the  time,  but  rose  from  his  chair  and  gazed 
at  the  ghastly  spectacle  without  discovering  the  least  symptom  of  un- 
easiness, terror,  or  satisfaction." — Peltier. 

"  One  day  when  my  brother  came  to  pay  us  a  visit,  he  perceived, 
as  he  came  along,  groups  of  people  whose  sanguinary  drunkenness  was 
horrible.  Many  were  naked  to  the  waist,  and  their  arms  and  breasts 
were  covered  with  blood.  Their  countenances  were  inflamed,  and  their 
eyes  haggard  ;  in  short,  they  looked  hideous.  My  brother,  in  his  uneasi- 
ness about  us,  determined  to  come  to  us  at  all  risks,  and  drove  rapidly 
along  the  Boulevard  until  he  arrived  opposite  the  house  of  Beaumarchais. 
There  he  was  stopped  by  an  immense  mob,  composed  also  of  half-naked 
people  besmeared  with  blood,  and  who  had  the  appearance  of  demons. 
They  vociferated,  sang,  and  danced.  It  was  the  Saturnalia  of  hell !  On 
perceiving  Albert's  cabriolet  they  cried  out,  '  Let  it  be  taken  to  him ; 
he  is  an  aristocrat.'  In  a  moment  the  cabriolet  was  surrounded  by  the 
multitude,  and  from  the  middle  of  the  crowd  an  object  seemed  to  arise 
and  approach.  My  brother's  troubled  sight  did  not  at  first  enable  him 
to  perceive  long  auburn  tresses  clotted  with  blood,  and  a  countenance 
still  lovely.  The  object  came  nearer  and  nearer,  and  rested  upon  his 
face.  My  unhappy  brother  uttered  a  piercing  cry.  He  had  recognized 
the  head  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe  !  " — Duchexsc  d1  Abrcmtes. 

"  It  is  sometimes  not  uninstructive  to  follow  the  career  of  the  wretches 
who  perpetrate  such  crimes  to  their  latter  end.  In  a  remote  situation  on 
the  sea-coast  lived  a  middle-aged  man,  in  a  solitary  cottage,  unattended 
by  any  human  being.  The  police  had  strict  orders  from  the  First  Consul 
to  watch  him  with  peculiar  care.  He  died  of  suffocation  produced  by 
an  accident  which  had  befallen  him  when  eating,  uttering  the  most 
horrid  blasphemies,  and  in  the  midst  of  frightful  tortures.  He  had 
been  the  principal  actor  in  the  murder  of  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe." — 
Duchesse  d  Abrcmtes. 

"  Madame  de  Lamballe's  sincere  attachment  to  the  Queen  was  her 
only  crime.  In  the  midst  of  our  commotions  she  had  played  no  part ; 
nothing  could  render  her  suspected  by  the  people,  to  whom  she  was  only 
known  by  repeated  acts  of  beneficence.  When  summoned  to  the  bar  of 
La  Force  many  among  the  crowd  besought  pardon  from  her,  and  the 
assassins  for  a  moment  stood  doubtful,  but  soon  murdered  her.  Imme- 
diately they  cut  off  her  head  and  her  breasts ;  her  body  was  opened,  her 
heart  torn  out ;  and  the  tigers  who  had  so  mangled  her  took  a  barbarous 
pleasure  in  going  to  show  her  head  and  heart  to  Louis  XVI.  and  his 
family  at  the  Temple.  Madame  de  Lamballe  was  beautiful,  gentle, 
obliging,  and  moderate." — Mercier. 

"  Marie  Therese  Louise  de  Savoie  Carignan  Lamballe,  widow  of  Louis 
Alexander  Joseph  Stanislas  de  Bourbon  Penthievre,  Prince  de  Lamballe, 
was  born  in  September  1 749,  and  was  mistress  of  the  household  to  the 
Queen  of  France,  to  whom  she  was  united  by  bonds  of  the  tenderest 
affection." — Biographie  Modeme. 


APPEND  WES.  3  7  « 

H. 

[Page  46.] 

The  Days  of  September. 

Subjoined  are  some  valuable  details  respecting  the  days  of  September, 
which  exhibit  those  horrid  scenes  under  their  genuine  aspect.  It  was 
at  the  Jacobins  that  the  most  important  disclosures  were  made,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  disputes  which  had  arisen  in  the  Convention. 


Sitting  of  Monday,  October  29,  1792. 

( 'habot. — "  This  morning  Louvet  made  an  assertion  which  it  is  essential 
to  contradict.  He  told  us  that  it  was  not  the  men  of  the  10th  of 
August  who  were  the  authors  of  the  2nd  of  September;  and  I,  as  an 
eye-witness,  can  tell  you  that  it  was  the  very  same  men.  He  told  us 
that  there  were  not  more  than  two  hundred  persons  acting,  and  I  will 
tell  you  that  I  passed  under  a  steel  arch  of  ten  thousand  swords.  For 
the  truth  of  this  I  appeal  to  Bazire,  Colon,  and  the  other  deputies  who 
were  with  me  :  from  the  Cour  des  Moines  to  the  prison  of  the  Abbaye, 
people  were  obliged  to  squeeze  one  another  to  make  a  passage  for  us. 
I  recognized,  for  my  part,  one  hundred  and  fifty  federalists.  It  is  im- 
possible that  Louvet  and  his  adherents  should  not  have  been  present  at 
these  popular  executions.  Yet  a  man  who  can  coolly  deliver  a  speech 
such  as  Louvet's  cannot  have  much  humanity.  At  any  rate  I  know 
that  since  that  speech  I  would  not  lie  down  by  him  for  fear  of  being 
assassinated.  I  summon  Petion  to  declare  if  it  be  true  that  there  were 
not  more  than  two  hundred  men  at  that  execution  ;  but  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  intriguers  would  fall  foul  of  that  day  respecting  which  all 
Prance  is  not  yet  enlightened.  .  .  .  They  want  to  destroy  the  patriots 
in  detail.  They  want  decrees  of  accusation  against  Robespierre,  Marat, 
Danton,  and  Santerre.  They  will  soon  attack  Bazire,  Merlin,  Chabot, 
Montaut,  and  even  Grangeneuve,  if  he  had  not  reconciled  himself  with 
them  ;  they  will  then  propose  a  decree  against  the  whole  Faubourg  St. 
Antoine,  and  against  the  forty-eight  sections,  and  there  will  be  eight 
hundred  thousand  of  us  decreed  under  accusation  :  but  let  them  beware 
of  miscalculating  their  strength,  since  they  demand  the  ostracism." 


Sitting  of  Monday,  November  5. 

"  Fabre  d'Eglantine  made  son bservations  on  the  events  of  the  2nd 

of  September.  Be  declared  that  it  was  the  men  of  the  iotli  of  August 
who  broke  into  the  prisons  of  the  Abbaye,  of  Orleans,  and  of  Versailles. 
Ee  said  that  in-these  moments  of  crisis  he  had  seen  the  same  men  come 
to  Danton's,  and  express  their  satisfaction  by  nibbing  their  hands  to- 
gether; that  one  of  them  even  desired  that  Morande  might  be  sac- 
rificed: he  added  that  he  had  seen  in  the  garden  of  the  minister  for 
foreign  affairs,  Roland,  the  minister,  pale,  dejected,  with  bis  head  leaning 

against  a  tree,  demanding  the  removal  of  the  Convention  to  Tours  or 


372  APPENDICES. 

Blois.  The  speaker  added  that  Danton  alone  displayed  the  greatest 
energy  of  character  on  that  day  ;  that  Danton  never  despaired  of  the 
salvation  of  the  country  ;  that  by  stamping  upon  the  ground  he  made 
ten  thousand  defenders  start  from  it  ;  and  that  he  had  sufficient 
moderation  not  to  make  a  bad  use  of  the  species  of  dictatorship  with 
which  the  National  Assembly  had  invested  him,  by  decreeing  that 
those  who  should  counteract  the  ministerial  operations  should  be 
punished  with  death.  Fabre  then  declared  that  he  had  received  a  letter 
from  Madame  Roland,  in  which  the  wife  of  the  minister  of  the  interior 
begged  him  to  lend  a  hand  to  an  expedient  devised  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  some  decrees  in  the  Convention.  The  speaker  proposed  that 
the  society  should  pass  a  resolution  for  drawing  up  an  address  compre- 
hending all  the  historical  details  of  the  events  which  had  occurred  from 
the  acquittal  of  Lafayette  to  that  day." 

Ghabot. — "  These  are  facts  which  it  is  of  importance  to  know.  On 
the  ioth  of  August  the  people  in  their  insurrection  designed  to  sac- 
rifice the  Swiss.  At  that  time  the  Brissotins  did  not  consider  them- 
selves as  the  men  of  the  ioth  of  August,  for  they  came  to  implore  us  to 
take  pity  on  them — such  was  the  very  expression  of  Lasource.  On  that 
day  I  was  a  god.  I  saved  one  hundred  and  fifty  Swiss.  Single-handed 
I  stopped  at  the  door  of  the  Feuillans  the  people  eager  to  penetrate  into 
the  hall  for  the  purpose  of  sacrificing  those  unfortunate  Swiss  to  their 
vengeance.  The  Brissotins  were  then  apprehensive  lest  the  massacre 
should  extend  to  them.  After  what  I  had  done  on  the  ioth  of  August, 
I  expected  that  on  the  2nd  of  September  I  should  be  deputed  to  the 
people.  Well,  the  extraordinary  commission  under  the  presidency  of 
the  supreme  Brissot  did  not  choose  me.  Whom  did  it  choose  ?  Dussaulx, 
with  whom,  it  is  true,  Bazire  was  associated.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
well  known  what  men  were  qualified  to  influence  the  people,  and  to 
stop  the  effusion  of  blood.  The  deputation  was  passing  me  ;  Bazire 
begged  me  to  join  it,  and  took  me  along  with  him.  .  .  .  Had  Dussaulx 
private  instructions  ?  I  know  not  ;  but  this  I  know,  that  he  would  not 
allow  any  one  to  speak.  Amidst  an  assemblage  of  ten  thousand  men, 
among  whom  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  Marseillais,  Dussaulx  mounted 
a  chair.  He  was  extremely  awkward  :  he  had  to  address  men  armed 
with  daggers.  When  he  at  length  obtained  silence,  I  said  hastily  to 
him,  '  If  you  manage  well,  you  will  put  a  stop  to  the  effusion  of  blood  : 
tell  the  Parisians  that  it  is  to  their  interest  that  the  massacres  should 
cease,  that  the  departments  may  not  be  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the 
National  Convention  which  is  about  to  assemble  in  Paris.'  Dussaulx 
heard  me  ;  but  whether  from  insincerity  or  the  pride  of  age,  he  would 
not  do  what  I  told  him  ;  and  this  is  that  M.  Dussaulx  who  is  proclaimed 
the  only  worthy  man  in  the  deputation  of  Paris  !  A  second  fact  not 
less  essential  is,  that  the  massacre  of  the  prisoners  of  Orleans  was  not 
committed  by  the  Parisians.  This  massacre  ought  to  appear  much  more 
odious,  because  it  was  farther  distant  from  the  ioth  of  August,  and  was 
perpetrated  by  a  smaller  number  of  men.  The  intriguers  nevertheless 
have  not  mentioned  it  ;  they  have  not  said  a  word  about  it.  And  why  ? 
Because  there  perished  an  enemy  of  Brissot,  the  minister  for  foreign 
affairs,  who  had  ousted  his  protdge,  Narbonne.  ...  If  I  alone  at  the 
door  of  the  Feuillans  stopped  the  people  who  wanted  to  sacrifice  the 
Swiss,  how  much  greater  is  the  probability  that  the  Legislative  Assembly 
might  have  prevented  the  effusion  of  blood  !  If,  then,  there  be  any 
guilt,  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  it  must  be  imputed,  or  rather  to 
Brissot,  who  was  then  its  leader." 


APPENDICES.  373 


[Page  50.] 

CoMTE   DE   ClAIRPAYT. 

"  Comte  de  Clairfayt,  a  Walloon  officer,  field-marshal  in  the  Austrian 
service,  and  Knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  served  with  great  credit  in 
the  war  with  the  Turks,  and  in  1791  was  employed  against  France. 
He  assisted  in  taking  Longwy  in  August,  and  in  November  lost  the 
famous  battle  of  Jemappes.  In  1793  the  Prince  of  Coburg  took  the 
chief  command  of  the  Austrian  army;  yet  its  successes  were  not  the 
less  owing  to  Clairfayt.  In  1794  he  continued  to  command  a  body  of 
men,  and  met  Pichegru  in  West  Flanders,  with  whom  he  fought  seven 
important  battles  before  he  resigned  the  victory  to  him.  In  1796 
Clairfayt  entered  the  aulic  council  of  war,  and  died  at  Vienna  in  1 798. 
Military  men  consider  him  the  best  general  that  was  ever  opposed  to 
the  French  during  the  revolutionary  war." — Biographic  Mudtme. 


[Page  52.] 

General  Beurnonville. 

"Pierre  Pyel  de  Beurnonville  was  born  at  Champigneul  in  1752, 
and  intended  for  the  Church,  but  was  bent  on  becoming  a  soldier.  He 
was  employed  in  1792  as  a  general  under  Dumouriez,  who  called  him 
his  Ajax.  During  the  war  he  was  arrested,  and  conveyed  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Prince  of  Coburg  ;  but  in  1795  ne  was  exchanged  for  the 
daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  In  1797  Beurnonville  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  French  army  in  Holland;  and  in  the  following  year 
was  made  inspector-general  by  the  Directory.  He  was  one  of  those  who 
sided  with  Bonaparte  when  the  latter  brought  about  a  new  revolution 
in  1799,  and  afterwards  received  from  him  the  embassy  to  Berlin.  He 
was  at  a  subsequent  period  sent  as  ambassador  to  Madrid ;  and  in  1 805 
was  chosen  a  senator.  From  the  year  1791  to  1793  Beurnonville  was 
present  in  not  less  than  172  engagements." — Biographie  Modeme. 


K. 

[Page  57.] 
Francisco  Miranda. 

"Dumouriez  says  that  Miranda  was  born  in  Peru;  others,  that  he  was 
a  native  of  Mexico.  He  led  a  wandering  life  Eor  some  years,  traversed 
the  greatest  part  of  Europe,  lived  much  in  England,  and  was  in  Russia 
at  the  time  of  the   French   Revolution ;   which  event  opening  a  career 


374  APPENDICES. 

to  him,  he  went  to  Paris,  and  there,  protected  by  Petion,  soon  made 
his  way.  He  had  good  natural  and  acquired  abilities,  and  was  particu- 
larly skilful  as  an  engineer.  In  1792  he  was  sent  to  command  the 
artillery  in  Champagne  under  Dumouriez,  whom  he  afterwards  accom- 
panied into  the  Low  Countries.  While  there  he  intrigued  against 
that  general  in  the  most  perfidious  manner,  and  was  brought  before 
the  revolutionary  tribunal,  by  whom,  however,  he  was  acquitted.  In 
1 803  he  was  arrested  at  Paris  on  suspicion  of  forming  plots  against  the 
consular  government,  and  was  sentenced  to  transportation.  The  battle 
of  Nerwinde,  in  1 793,  was  lost  entirely  by  the  folly  or  cowardice  of 
Miranda,  who  withdrew  almost  at  the  beginning  of  the  action,  and 
abandoned  all  his  artillery." — Biographie  Moderne. 


L. 

[P^e  73-] 

David. 

"  Jacques  Louis  David,  a  celebrated  painter,  elector  of  Paris  in  1792, 
was  one  of  the  warmest  friends  of  Robespierre.  He  voted  for  the  death 
of  Louis  XVI.  He  contrived  the  Mountain  on  which  Robespierre  gave 
a  public  festival  in  the  field  of  Mars.  In  1794  he  presided  in  the  Con- 
vention. In  1800  the  ConsTils  made  him  the  national  artist,  when  he 
painted  for  the  Hospital  of  the  Invalids  a  picture  of  General  Bonaparte. 
In  1 805  he  was  appointed  to  paint  the  scene  of  the  Emperor's  corona- 
tion. David  was  unquestionably  the  first  French  painter  of  the  modern 
school ;  and  this  consideration  had  some  weight  in  obtaining  his  pardon 
in  1794,  when  he  had  been  accused  of  being  a  Terrorist.  A  swelling 
which  David  had  in  his  cheeks  rendered  his  features  hideous.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Legion  of  Honour;  and  his  daughter,  in  1805,  married 
a  colonel  of  infantry." — Biographie  Moderne. 


M. 

[Page  73.] 
Fabre  b-'Eglantine. 

"  Fabre  d'Eglantine  was  a  native  of  Carcassone.  He  was  known  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  by  works  which  had  little  success, 
and  since  that  time  by  comedies  not  destitute  of  merit ;  but  above  all, 
by  criminal  conduct  both  as  a  public  and  a  private  man.  Of  low  birth, 
he  possessed  a  vanity  which  rendered  him  intolerable.  He  could  not 
endure  the  nobility.  While  he  was  obliged  to  bend  before  it,  he  was 
content  with  abusing  it,  as  he  could  do  no  more;  but  when  the  course 
of  events  had  placed  him  in  a  position  to  crush  those  he  hated,  he 
rushed  on  them  with  the  rage  of  a  tiger,  and  tore  them  to  pieces  with 
delight.  I  have  heard  him  say,  nearly  like  Caligula,  that  he  wished  the 
nobles  had  but  one  head,  that  he  might  strike  it  oft'  at  a  single  blow. 


APPENDICES.  3  7  5 

In  1793,  during  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.,  he  was  solicited  to  be  favour- 
able to  that  unfortunate  Prince.  '  You  will  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  doing 
a  good  action,'  said  the  applicant.  '  I  know  a  pleasure  far  superior  to 
that,'  replied  Fabre ;  '  it  is  the  pleasure  felt  by  a  commoner  in  con- 
demning a  king  to  death.' " — Memoirs  of  a  Peer  of  France. 


N. 

[Page  73.] 
Collot-d'Herbois. 

"  Jean  Marie  Collot-d'Herbois  first  appeared  on  the  stage,  and  had 
little  success.  He  played  at  Geneva,  at  the  Hague,  and  at  Lyons,  where, 
having  been  often  hissed,  he  vowed  the  most  cruel  vengeance  against 
that  town.  The  line  of  acting  in  which  he  played  best  was  that  of 
tyrants  in  tragedies.  He  went  to  Paris  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  embraced  the  popular  cause.  Possessed  of  a  fine  face,  a  power- 
ful voice,  and  great  boldness,  he  became  one  of  the  oracles  at  the  Jacobin 
Club.  He  was  no  stranger  to  the  September  massacres.  During  the 
King's  trial  he  sat  at  the  top  of  the  Mountain,  by  Robespierre's  side,  and 
voted  for  the  monarch's  death.  It  has  been  said  of  this  man,  who  was 
surnamed  the  Tiger,  that  he  was  the  most  sanguinary  of  the  Terrorists. 
In  1793  ho  took  his  departure  for  Lyons,  and  protested  that  the  South 
should  soon  be  purified.  It  is  from  the  time  of  this  mission  that  his 
horrible  celebrity  takes  its  rise.  He  sent  for  a  column  of  the  revolu- 
tionary army,  and  organized  the  demolitions,  and  the  employment  of 
cannon  in  order  to  make  up  for  the  slowness  of  the  guillotine  at  Lyons. 
The  victims,  when  about  to  be  shot,  were  bound  to  a  cord  fixed  to 
trees,  and  a  picket  of  infantry  marched  round  the  place,  firing  succes- 
sively on  the  condemned.  The  mitraillades,  the  executions  by  artillery, 
took  place  in  the  Brotteaux.  Those  who  were  destined  for  this  punish- 
ment were  ranged  two  by  two  on  the  edge  of  the  ditches  that  had  been 
iIhlc  to  receive  their  bodies,  and  cannons  loaded  with  small  bits  of  metal 
were  Hied  upon  them ;  after  which  some  troops  of  the  revolutionary 
army  despatched  the  wounded  with  swords  or  bayonets.  Two  women 
and  a  young  girl  having  solicited  the  pardon  of  their  husbands  and 
brothers,  Collot-d'Herbois  had  them  bound  on  the  scaffold  where  their 
relations  expired,  and  their  blood  spouted  out  on  them.  On  his  return 
to  Paris,  being  denounced  to  the  National  Convention  by  petitioners 
from  Lyons,  he  answered  that  'the  cannon  had  been  fired  but  once  on 
sixty  of  the  most  guilty,  to  destroy  them  with  a  single  stroke.'  The 
Convention  approved  of  his  measures,  and  ordered  that  his  speech  should 
be  printed.  In  the  year  1794,  returning  home  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  Collot  was  attacked  by  Admiral,  who  fired  at  him  twice  with 
a  pistol,  but  missed  his  aim.  The  importance  which  this  adventure 
gave  him,  both  in  the  Convention,  of  which  he  was  nominated  president, 
and  elsewhere,  irritated  the  self-love  of  Robespierre,  whom  Collot  after 
wards  denounced.  In  1795  n<J  w:is  transported  to  (iuiana,  where  he 
endeavoured  to  stir  up  the  blacks  against  the  whites.  He  died  in  the 
following  year  of  a  violent  fever,  which  was  increased  by  his  drinking  a 
bottle  1  >f  brandy.  Collot  published  some  pamphlets  and  several  theatrical 
pieces,  but  none  of  them  deserve-  notice."     BiograpMe  Modernt 


376  APPENDICES. 

0. 

[Page  74.] 
L.  S.  Freron. 

"L.  S.  Freron  was  son  of  the  journalist  Freron,  the  antagonist  of 
Voltaire  and  of  the  philosophic  sect.     Brought  up  at  the  college  Louis- 
le-Grand  with  Robespierre,  he  became  in  the  Revolution  his  friend,  his 
emulator,  and  at  last  his  denouncer.      In    1789  he  began  to  edit   the 
'  Orator  of  the  People,'  and  became  the  coadjutor  of  Marat.     Being  sent 
with  Barras  on  a  mission  to  the  South,  he  displayed  extreme  cruelty  and 
activity.     On  their  arrival  at  Marseilles  in   1793,  they  published  a  pro- 
clamation announcing  that  Terror  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and  that 
to  save  Marseilles,  and  to  raze  Toulon,  were  the  aims  of  their  labours. 
'  Things  go  on  well  here,'  wrote  Freron  to  Moses  Bayle :  '  we  have  re- 
quired twelve  thousand  masons  to  raze  the  town ;  every  day  since  our 
arrival  we  have  caused  two  hundred  heads  to  fall,  and  already  eight 
hundred  Toulonese  have  been  shot.     All  the  great  measures  have  been 
neglected   at    Marseilles ;    if   they  had  only   shot   eight   hundred   con- 
spirators, as  has  been  done  here,  and  had  appointed  a  committee  to 
condemn  the  rest,  we  should  not  have  been  in  the  condition  we  now  are.' 
It  was  at  first  intended  to  put  to  death  all  who  had  accepted  any  office, 
or  borne  arms   in  the   town    during   the   siege.     Freron  consequently 
signified  to  them  that  they  must  all  go,  under  pain  of  death,  to  the 
Champ  de  Mars.      The  Toulonese,  thinking  to  obtain  pardon  by  this 
submission,  obeyed,  and  eight  thousand  persons  were  assembled  at  the 
appointed   place.       All   the   representatives    (Barras,   Salicetti,   Ricord, 
Robespierre  the  younger,  &c.)  were  shocked  at  the  sight  of  this  multitude  ; 
Freron  himself,  surrounded  by  a  formidable  train,  saw  these  numerous 
victims  with  terror;  at  last,  by  the  advice  of  Barras,  a  jury  was  appointed, 
and  a  great  number  of  the  most  guilty  instantly  shot.     The  shooting 
with  muskets  being  insufficient,   they  had  afterwards  recourse  to  the 
mitraillade ;  and  it  was  in  another  execution  of  this  nature  that  Freron, 
in  order  to  despatch  the  victims  who  had  not  perished  by  the  first  dis- 
charge, cried  out,  '  Let  those  who  are  still   living,  rise  ;  the  republic 
pardons  them.'     Some  unhappy  creatures  trusting  to  this  promise,  he 
caused  them  to  be  immediately  fired  upon.     On  quitting  Toulon,  Freron 
went  with  his  coadjutors  to  finish  the  depopulation  of  Marseilles,  which 
they  declared  a  commune  without  a  name,  and  where  they  destroyed 
more  than  four  hundred  individuals,  by  means  of  a  criminal  tribunal, 
and  afterwards  of  a  military  committee.     At  the  same  time  they  caused 
the  finest  edifices  of  the  city  to  be  destroyed.     Returning  from  his  pro- 
consulship,  Freron  soon  became  an  object  of  suspicion  to  Robespierre, 
whom  he  attacked  in  return,  and  contributed  greatly  to  his  ruin.     From 
this  period  he  showed  himself  the  enemy  of  the  Terrorists,  and  pursued 
them  with  a  fury  worthy  of  a  former  companion.     He  proposed  in  the 
Convention  that  death  should  no  longer  be  inflicted  for  revolutionary 
crimes,  except  for  emigration,  promotion  of  the  royal  cause,  and  military 
treason,  and  that  transportation  should  be  substituted  instead.     At  the 
time  of  the  expedition  to  St.  Domingo  in  1802,  Freron  was  appointed  pre- 
fect of  the  South,  and  went  with  General  Leclerc  ;  but  he  sank  under  the 
influence  of  the  climate,  after  an  illness  of  six  da,ys."—Biogro^hie  Modeme. 


APPENDICES.  37  7 


[Page  76.] 
Buzot. 


u  ■ 


;  F.  N.  L.  Buzot  was  born  at  Evreux  in  1760,  and  was  an  advocate  in 
that  city  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  which  he  embraced  with  ardour. 
In  1792  he  was  deputed  by  the  Eure  to  the  National  Assembhy.  At  the 
time  of  the  King's  trial  he  voted  for  his  death,  though  not  for  his  im- 
mediate execution,  and  he  was  even  one  of  those  who  most  warmly 
solicited  a  reprieve  for  him.  In  the  March  following  he  more  than  once 
gave  warning  of  the  despotism  of  the  mob  of  Paris,  and  ended  one  of  his 
speeches  by  threatening  that  city  with  the  sight  of  the  grass  growing  in 
the  streets  if  confusion  should  reign  there  much  longer.  In  April  he 
contended  against  the  Jacobins,  who,  he  said,  were  influenced  by  men 
of  blood.  Having  been  denounced  as  a  Girondin,  he  made  his  escape 
from  Paris,  and  after  wandering  about  some  time,  was  found,  together 
with  Petion,  dead  in  a  held,  and  half  eaten  by  wolves." — Biographie 
Modeme. 


Q. 

[Page  97.] 

Garat. 

"  D.  J.  Garat  the  younger  was  a  man  of  letters,  a  member  of  the 
Institute,  and  professor  of  history  in  the  Lyceum  of  Paris.  In  1792  he 
was  appointed  minister  of  justice,  and  commissioned  to  inform  Louis  of 
his  condemnation.  In  the  following  year  he  became  minister  of  the 
interior.  Garat  survived  all  the  perils  of  the  Revolution,  and  in  1806  he 
pronounced  in  the  Senate  one  of  the  most  eloquent  speeches  that  were 
ever  made  on  the  victories  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  Garat  published 
several  works  on  the  Revolution." — Biographie  Moderru  . 


R. 

I  /'«»<  93.] 

The  Temple. 

"The  small  tower  of  the  Temple  in  which  the  King  was  then  confined 
stood  with  its  back  against  the  great  tower,  without  any  interior  com- 
munication, and  formed  a  long  square,  flanked  l>y  two  turrets.  In  one 
of  these  turrets  there  was  a  narrow  staircase  thai  led  from  the  first  floor 


378  APPENDICES. 

to  a  gallery  on  the  platform ;  in  the  other  were  small  rooms,  answering 
to  each  storey  of  the  tower.     The  body  of  the  building  was  four  storeys 
high.     The  first  consisted  of  an  ante-chamber,  a  dining-room,  and  a  small 
room  in  the  turret,  where  there  was  a  library  containing  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  hundred  volumes.     The  second  storey  was  divided  nearly  in  the 
same  manner.     The  largest  room  was  the  Queen's  bed-chamber,  in  which 
the  Dauphin  also    slept ;    the    second,  which  was    separated   from  the 
Queen's  by  a  small  ante-chamber  almost  without  light,  was  occupied  by 
Madame  Royale  and  Madame   Elizabeth.     This  chamber  was  the  only 
way  to  the  turret-room  in  this  storey,  and  the  turret-room  was  the  only 
place  of  office  for  this  whole  range  of  building,  being  in  common  for  the 
royal  family,  the  municipal  officers,  and  the  soldiers.     The  King's  apart- 
ments were  on  the  third  storey.     He  slept  in  the  great  room,  and  made 
a  study  of  the  turret  closet.     There  was  a  kitchen  separated  from  the 
King's   chamber  by  a  small  dark  room,  which    had   been    successively 
occupied  by  M.  de  Chamilly  and  M.  de    Hue,  and  on  which  the  seals 
were  now  fixed.     The  fourth  storey  was  shut  up ;  and  on  the  ground-floor 
there  were  kitchens  of  which  no  use  was  made.     The  King  usually  rose 
at  six  in  the  morning.    He  shaved  himself,  and  I  dressed  his  hair  ;  he  then 
went  to  his  reading-room,  which  being  very  small,  the  municipal  officer 
on    duty  remained   in    the  bed-chamber  with  the  door  open,  that   he 
might  always  keep  the  King  in  sight.     His  Majesty  continued  praying 
on  his  knees  for    some  time,  and  then    read   till   nine.     During   that 
interval,  after  putting  his  chamber  in  order,  and  preparing  the  break- 
fast, I  went  down  to  the   Queen,  who  never   opened  her  door   till    I 
arrived,  in  order  to  prevent  the  municipal  officer  from  going  into  her 
apartment.     At    nine   o'clock   the    Queen,   the   children,   and   Madame 
Elizabeth  went  up  to   the   King's  chamber  to  breakfast.     At  ten  the 
King  and  his  family  went    down    to   the   Queen's  chamber  and  there 
passed  the  day.     He  employed  himself  in  educating  his  son,  made  him 
recite  passages  from  Corneille  and  Racine,  gave  him  lessons  in  geography, 
and  exercised  him  in  colouring  the  maps.     The  Queen,  on  her  part,  was 
employed  in  the  education  of  her  daughter ;  and  these  different  lessons 
lasted  till  eleven  o'clock.     The  remaining  time  till  noon  was  passed  in 
needlework,  knitting,  or  making  tapestry.     At  one  o'clock,  when  the 
weather  was  fine,  the  royal  family  were  conducted  to  the  garden  by 
four  municipal  officers  and  the  commander  of  a  legion  of  the  national 
guards.     At  two  we  returned  to  the  tower,  where  I  served  the  dinner, 
at  which  time  Santerre  regularly  came  to  the  Temple,  attended  by  two 
aides-de-camp.     The  King  sometimes  spoke  to  him ;  the  Queen,  never. 
In  the  evening  the  family  sat  round  a  table,  while  the  Queen  read  to 
them   from  books  of   history,  or  other  works  proper  to  instruct  and 
amuse  the  children.     Madame  Elizabeth  took  the  book  in  her  turn,  and 
in  this  manner  they  read   till   eight  o'clock.     After  the  Dauphin  had 
supped,  I  undressed  him,  and  the  Queen  heard  him  say  his  prayers.     At 
nine  the  King  went  to  supper,  and  afterwards  went  for  a  moment  to  the 
Queen's  chamber,  shook  hands  with    her   and  her  sister  for  the  night, 
kissed  his  children,  and  then  retired  to  the  turret-room,  where  he  sate 
reading  till  midnight.     The  Queen  and  the  Princesses  locked  themselves 
in,  and  one  of  the  municipal  officers  remained  in  the  little  room  which 
parted  their  chamber,  where  he  passed  the  night ;  the  other  followed 
his  Majesty.     In  this  manner  was  the  time  passed  as  long  as  the  King 
remained  in  the  small  tower." — Glery. 


APPEND/CMS.  379 

S. 
[Page  ioo.] 

COMTE   CtJSTINE. 

"  Comte  Adam  Philippe  Custine,  born  at  Metz  in  1740,  served  as 
captain  in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Through  the  influence  of  the  Due  de 
Choiseul,  he  obtained,  in  1762,  a  regiment  of  dragoons,  which  was  called 
by  his  name.  In  1780  he  exchanged  this  for  the  regiment  of  Saintonge, 
which  was  on  the  point  of  going  to  America  to  the  aid  of  the  colonies. 
On  his  return  he  was  appointed  Marechal  de  Camp.  In  17(89  he  was 
deputy  of  the  nobility  of  Metz,  and  was  one  of  the  first  who  declared 
for  the  popular  party.  He  subsequently  entered  the  army  of  the  North, 
and  in  1792  made  himself  master  of  the  pass  of  Porentruy.  He  then 
received  the  command  of  the  army  of  the  Lower  Rhine,  and  opened  the 
campaign  by  taking  possession  of  Spire.  He  next  took  Worms,  then 
the  fortress  of  Mentz,  and  then  Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  on  which  he 
laid  heavy  contributions.  In  1793  ne  was  denounced,  and  received  his 
dismissal;  but  the  Convention  afterwards  invested  him  with  the  com- 
mand of  the  Northern  army.  But  he  had  hardly  time  to  visit  the 
posts.  Marat  and  Varennes  were  unceasing  in  their  accusations  against 
him  :  and  the  revolutionary  tribunal  soon  afterwards  condemned  him 
to  death." — Encyclopaedia  A  mt  ricana. 


T. 

[Page  109.] 

Speech  of  Oollot-d'Herf.ots. 

The  report  of  the  speech  addressed  by  Collot-d'Herbois  to  Dumouriez, 
as  given  in  the  Journal  des  Jacobins,  is  as  follows  :— 

"I  meant  to  speak  of  our  armies,  and  I  congratulated  myself  on 
having  to  speak  of  them  in  the  presence  of  the  soldier  whom  you  have 
just  heard.  1  meant  to  censure  the  answer  of  the  president;  1  have 
already  said  several  times  that  the  president  ought  never  to  reply  to  the 
members  of  the  society  ;  but  he  has  replied  to  all  the  soldiers  of  the 
army.  This  answer  gives  to  all  a  signal  testimony  of  your  satisfaction. 
Dumouriez  will  share  it  with  all  his  brethren  in  arms,  for  he  knows  that 
without  them  his  glory  would  be  nothing.  We  must  accustom  ourselves 
to  this  language.  Dumouriez  has  done  his  duty.  This  is  his  best  recom- 
pense. It.  is  not  because  he  is  a  general  that  1  praise  him,  but  because 
lie  is  a  French  soldier. 

"Is  it  not  true,  general,  that  it  is  a  glorious  thing  to  command  a 
republican  army  ?  that  thou  hast  found  a  great  difference  between  this 
army  ami  those  >>f  despotism P  The  French  are  not  possessed  of  bravery 
only  ;  they  have  something  beyond  the  mere  contempt  of  death;  for  who 
is  there  that  fears  death  ?  Bui  t  hose  inhabitants  of  Lille  and  Thionville, 
who  coolly  await  the  red-hot  balls,  who  continue  immovable  amid  the 
bursting  of  bombs  and  tin:  destruction  of  their  houses-  is  not  tins  the 


380  APPENDICES. 

development  of  all  the  virtues  ?  Ah,  yes,  those  virtues  are  above  all 
triumphs  !  A  new  manner  of  making  war  is  now  invented,  and  our 
enemies  will  not  find  it  out :  tyrants  will  not  be  able  to  do  anything  so 
long  as  free  men  shall  be  resolved  to  defend  themselves. 

"  A  great  number  of  our  brethren  have  fallen  in  the  defence  of  liberty : 
they  are  dead,  but  their  memory  is  dear  to  us.  They  have  left  examples 
which  live  in  our  hearts — but  do  they  live  who  have  attacked  us  ?  No  ; 
they  are  crushed,  and  their  cohorts  are  but  heaps  of  carcasses  which  are 
rotting  on  the  spot  where  they  fought ;  they  are  but  an  infectious  dung- 
hill which  the  sun  of  liberty  will  have  great  difficulty  to  purify.  .  .  . 
That  host  of  walking  skeletons  closely  resembles  the  skeleton  of  tyranny  ; 
and  like  it  they  will  not  fail  to  succumb.  .  .  .  What  is  become  of  those 
old  generals  of  high  renown  ?  Their  shadow  vanishes  before  the  almighty 
genius  of  liberty  ;  they  flee,  and  they  have  but  dungeons  for  their  retreat, 
for  dungeons  will  soon  be  the  only  palaces  of  despots :  they  flee  because 
the  nations  are  rising. 

"  It  was  not  a  king  who  appointed  thee,  Dumouriez  ;  it  was  thy  fellow- 
citizens  :  recollect  that  a  general  of  the  republic  ought  never  to  treat 
with  tyrants ;  recollect  that  such  generals  as  thyself  ought  never  to 
serve  any  but  liberty.  Thou  hast  heard  of  Themistocles :  he  had  saved 
Greece  by  the  battle  of  Salamis :  he  was  calumniated — thou  hast  thy 
enemies,  Dumouriez :  thou  shalt  be  calumniated,  and  that  is  the  reason 
I  talk  to  thee — Themistocles  was  calumniated ;  he  was  unjustly  punished 
by  his  fellow-citizens ;  he  found  an  asylum  among  tyrants,  but  still  he 
was  Themistocles.  He  was  asked  to  bear  arms  against  his  country. 
'  My  sword,'  said  he,  '  shall  never  serve  tyrants ! '  and  he  plunged  it 
into  his  heart.  I  will  also  remind  thee  of  Scipio.  Antiochus  endea- 
voured to  bribe  that  great  man  by  offering  him  a  most  valuable  hostage, 
his  own  son.  '  Thou  hast  not  wealth  enough  to  purchase  my  conscience,' 
replied  Scipio,  '  and  nature  knows  no  love  superior  to  the  love  of 
country.' 

"  Nations  are  groaning  in  slavery.  Thou  wilt  soon  deliver  them. 
What  a  glorious  mission !  Success  is  not  doubtful ;  the  citizens  who 
are  waiting  for  thee,  hope  for  thee ;  and  those  who  are  here  urge  thee 
on.  We  must,  however,  reproach  thee  with  some  excess  of  generosity 
towards  thine  enemies ;  thou  hast  conducted  back  the  King  of  Prussia 
rather  too  much  in  the  French  manner — in  the  old  French  manner,  that 
is  to  say.  {Applause.)  But  let  us  hope  that  Austria  will  pay  double ; 
she  has  money ;  don't  spare  her ;  thou  canst  not  make  her  pay  too  much 
for  the  outrages  which  her  race  has  committed  upon  mankind. 

"  Thou  art  going  to  Brussels,  Dumouriez  (applause) ;  thou  wilt  pass 
through  Courtrai.  There  the  French  name  has  been  profaned;  the 
traitor  Jarry  has  burned  houses.  Thus  far  I  have  spoken  only  to  thy 
courage.  I  now  speak  to  thy  heart.  Be  mindful  of  those  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  Courtrai ;  disappoint  not  their  hopes  this  time ;  promise 
them  the  justice  of  the  nation ;  the  nation  will  stand  by  thee. 

"  When  thou  shalt  be  at  Brussels  ...  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  thee 
concerning  the  conduct  which  thou  hast  to  pursue.  ...  If  thou  there 
findest  an  execrable  woman  who  came  to  the  foot  of  the  walls  of  Lille 
to  feast  her  ferocity  with  the  sight  of  red-hot  balls  .  .  .  but  that  woman 
will  not  await  thee.  ...  If  thou  shouldst  find  her,  she  would  be  thy 
prisoner ;  we  have  others  belonging  to  her  family  .  .  .  thou  wouldst 
send  her  hither  ...  let  her  be  shaved  in  such  a  manner  that  she  never 
again  could  wear  a  wig. 

"  At  Brussels  liberty  will  revive  under  thy  auspices.     A  whole  nation 


APPENDICES.  381 

will  give  itself  up  to  joy :  thou  wilt  restore  children  to  their  fathers, 
wives  to  their  husbands  ;  the  sight  of  their  happiness  will  be  a  recreation 
to  thee  after  thy  labours.  Boys,  citizens,  girls,  women,  will  throng 
around  thee — will  all  embrace  thee  as  their  father!  Ah!  how  happy 
wilt  thou  be,  Dumouriez  !  .  .  .  My  wife,  she  comes  from  Brussels ;  she 
will  embrace  thee  too." 

This  speech  was  frequently  interrupted  by  vehement  applause. 


u. 

[Page  1 12.J 

Marat's  Visit  to  Dumouriez. 

The  following  account  of  the  visit  paid  by  Marat  to  Dumouriez  at 
Mademoiselle  Candeille's  is  extracted  from  the  Journal  de  la  Re'publique 
Franpaise.  It  was  written  by  Marat  himself,  and  published  in  his  paper 
of  Tuesday,  October  17,  1792. 

"  Declaration  of  the  Friend  of  the  PeopU  . 

"Less  surprised  than  indignant  at  seeing  former  valets  of  the  Court, 
placed  by  the  course  of  events  at  the  head  of  our  armies,  and  since  the 
K>tli  of  August  kept  in  their  places  by  influence,  intrigue,  and  stupidity, 
carry  their  audacity  so  far  as  to  degrade  and  treat  as  criminals  two 
patriot  battalions,  upon  the  ridiculous  and  most  probably  false  pretext 
that  some  individuals  had  murdered  four  Prussian  deserters;  I  pre- 
sented myself  at  the  tribune  of  the  Jacobins  to  expose  this  odious  pro- 
ceeding, and  to  apply  for  two  commissioners  distinguished  for  their 
civism  to  accompany  me  to  Dumouriez,  and  to  be  witnesses  of  his 
answers  to  my  questions.  I  repaired  to  him  with  citizens  Bentabolle 
and  Montuau,  two  of  my  colleagues  in  the  Convention.  We  were  told 
that  he  was  gone  to  the  play,  and  was  to  sup  in  town. 

"  We  knew  that  lie  had  returned  from  the  Varietes :  we  went  in 
quest  of  him  to  the  club  of  D.  Cypher,  where  we  were  told  that  lie  was 
expected  to  be.  Labour  lost.  At  length  we  learned  that  he  was  to  sup 
at  the  little  house  of  Talma,  in  the  Rue  Chantereine.  A  file  of  carriages 
and  brilliant  illuminations  pointed  out  to  us  the  temple  where  the  chil- 
dren (if  Thalia  were  entertaining  a  son  of  Mars.  We  were  surprised  to 
find  Parisian  national  guards  within  and  without.  After  passing  through 
an  ante-chamber  full  of  servants,  intermixed  with  heidnks,  we  arrived 
at  a  salon  containing  a  numerous  company. 

'•  At  the  door  was  Santerre,  general  of  the  Parisian  army,  performing 

(1 Hire  of   lackey,  or  gentlciiian-usher.     He  announced  me  in  a    loud 

v<>i<v  fche  moment  he  saw  me,  which  displeased  me  exceedingly,  inas- 
much as  it  was  likely  to  drive  away  certain  masks  which  one  would  like 
to  be  acquainted  with.  However,  I  saw  enough  to  gain  a  clue  to  the 
intrigues.  1  shall  say  nothing  of  half  a  score  of  fairies  destined  to 
grace  the  entertainment.  Politics  were  probably  not  fche  object  of  their 
meeting.  Neither  shall  1  say  anything  of  the  national  officers  who  were 
paying  their  court  to  fche  great  general,  or  of  the  old  valets  of  the  <  \>urt 


382  APPENDICES. 

who  formed  his  retinue,  in  the  dress  of  aides-de-camp.  And  lastly,  1 
shall  say  nothing  of  the  master  of  the  house,  who  was  among  them  in 
the  costume  of  a  player.  But  I  cannot  help  declaring,  in  illustration  of 
the  operations  of  the  Convention,  and  of  the  character  of  the  jugglers  of 
decrees,  that  in  the  august  company  were  Kersaint,  the  great  busybody 
Lebrun,  Roland,  Lasource,  .  .  .  Chenier,  all  tools  of  the  faction  of  the 
federative  republic,  and  Dulaure  and  Gorsas,  their  libelling  errand-boys. 
As  there  was  a  large  party,  I  distinguished  three  conspirators  only ; 
perhaps  they  were  more  numerous  ;  and  as  it  was  now  still  early,  it  is 
probable  that  they  had  not  all  arrived,  for  the  Vergniauds,  the  Buzots, 
the  Camuses,  the  Rabauts,  the  Lacroix,  the  Guadets,  the  Barbaroux, 
and  other  leaders  were  no  doubt  of  the  party,  since  they  belong  to  the 
secret  conclave. 

"  Before  I  proceed  to  our  conversation  with  Dumouriez,  I  shall  here 
pause  a  moment  to  make  with  the  judicious  reader  some  observations 
that  will  not  be  misplaced.  Is  it  to  be  conceived  that  this  generalis- 
simo of  the  republic,  who  has  suffered  the  King  of  Prussia  to  escape 
from  Verdun,  and  who  has  capitulated  with  the  enemy,  whom  he  might 
have  cooped  up  in  his  camps,  and  forced  to  lay  down  his  arms,  instead 
of  favouring  his  retreat,  should  have  chosen  so  critical  a  moment  to 
abandon  the  armies  under  his  command,  to  run  to  playhouses,  to  get 
himself  applauded,  and  to  indulge  in  orgies  at  an  actor's  with  nymphs 
of  the  opera  ? 

"  Dumouriez  has  disguised  the  secret  motives  which  call  him  to  Paris, 
under  the  pretext  of  concerting  with  the  ministers  the  plan  of  the 
operations  of  the  campaign.  What!  with  a  Roland,  a  frire  coupe-choux 
and  petty  intriguer,  acquainted  only  with  the  mean  ways  of  lying  and 
low  cunning  !  with  a  Lepage,  a  worthy  disciple  of  his  patron,  Roland  ! 
with  a  Clavieres,  who  knows  nothing  but  the  terms  of  stockbrokering  ! 
with  a  Garat,  who  comprehends  nothing  but  the  affected  phrases  and 
the  ti'icks  of  an  academic  parasite  !  I  shall  say  nothing  of  Monge : 
he  is  deemed  a  patriot ;  but  he  is  just  as  ignorant  of  military  ope- 
rations as  his  colleagues,  who  know  nothing  at  all  about  them. 
Dumouriez  is  come  to  concert  with  the  leadei's  of  the  party  which 
is  caballing  for  the  establishment  of  a  federative  republic.  That  is 
his  errand. 

"  On  entering  the  salon  where  the  entertainment  was  given,  I  per- 
ceived plainly  that  my  presence  damped  the  gaiety  of  the  guests,  which 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  when  it  is  considered  that  I  am  a  bugbear  to 
the  enemies  of  the  country.  Dumouriez  in  particular  appeared  dis- 
concerted. I  begged  him  to  step  with  me  into  another  room,  as  I 
wished  to  converse  with  him  a  few  moments  in  private.  I  addressed 
him,  and  our  conversation  was  word  for  word  as  follows : — '  We  are 
members  of  the  National  Convention,  and  we  come,  Sir,  to  beg  you  to 
give  us  some  explanation  relative  to  the  affair  of  the  two  battalions,  the 
Mauconseil  and  the  Republicain,  accused  by  you  of  having  murdered 
four  Prussian  deserters  in  cold  blood.  We  have  searched  the  offices  of 
the  military  committee  and  those  of  the  war  department ;  we  cannot 
there  find  the  least  proof  of  the  crime ;  and  nobody  can  furnish  informa- 
tion on  all  these  points  but  yourself.'  '  Gentlemen,  I  have  sent  all  the 
documents  to  the  minister.'  '  We  assure  you,  Sir,  that  we  have  in 
our  hands  a  memorial,  drawn  up  in  his  office  and  in  his  name,  pur- 
porting that  there  are  no  facts  whatever  for  pronouncing  upon  this 
alleged  crime,  and  that  for  such  we  must  address  ourselves  to  you.' 
'  But,  gentlemen,  I  have  informed  the   Convention,  and  to   it   I  refer 


APPENDICES.  383 

you.'  '  Permit  us,  Sir,  to  observe  that  the  information  furnished  is  not 
sufficient,  since  the  committees  of  the  Convention,  to  which  this  matter 
has  been  referred,  have  declared  in  their  report  that  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  pronounce  for  want  of  particulars  and  proofs  of  the  crime 
denounced.  We  beg  you  to  say  whether  you  know  all  the  circumstances 
of  this  affair.'  'Certainly,  of  my  own  knowledge.'  'Then  it  is  not 
merely  a  confidential  denunciation  made  by  you  on  the  faith  of  M. 
Duchaseau  P  '  '  But,  gentlemen,  when  I  assert  a  thing,  I  think  I  ought 
to  be  believed.'  '  Sir,  if  we  thought  as  you  do  on  that  point,  we  should 
not  have  taken  the  step  that  has  brought  us  hither.  We  have  great 
reasons  to  doubt ;  several  members  of  the  military  committee  have  in- 
formed us  that  these  pretended  Prussians  were  four  French  emigrants.' 
'  Well,  gentlemen,  if  that  were  the  case  ?  '  '  Sir,  that  would  absolutely 
change  the  state  of  the  matter,  and  without  approving  beforehand  the 
conduct  of  the  battalions,  perhaps  they  are  absolutely  innocent :  it  is 
the  circumstances  which  provoked  the  murder  that  it  is  important  to 
know.  Now,  letters  from  the  army  state  that  these  emigrants  were 
discovered  to  be  spies  sent  by  the  enemy,  and  that  they  even  rose 
against  the  national  guards.'  '  What,  Sir,  do  you  then  approve  the 
insubordination  of  the  soldiers  P  '  '  No,  Sir,  I  do  not  approve  the  in- 
subordination of  the  soldiers:  but  I  detest  the  tyranny  of  the  officers.  I 
have  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  this  is  a  machination  of  Duchaseau 
against  the  patriot  battalions,  and  the  manner  in  which  you  have  treated 
them  is  revolting.'  '  Monsieur  Marat,  you  are  too  warm  ;  I  cannot  enter 
into  explanations  with  you.'  Here  Dumouriez,  rinding  himself  too  closely 
pressed,  extricated  himself  from  the  dilemma  by  leaving  us.  My  two 
colleagues  followed  him,  and  in  the  conversation  which  they  had  with 
him  lie  confined  himself  to  saying  that  he  had  sent  the  documents  to 
the  minister.  While  they  were  talking  I  found  myself  surrounded  by 
all  the  aides-de-camp  of  Dumouriez,  and  by  the  officers  of  the  Parisian 
guard.  Santerre  strove  to  appease  me  ;  he  talked  to  me  about  the 
necessity  of  subordination  in  the  troops.  '  T  know  that  as  well  as  you,' 
I  replied;  "but  I  am  disgusted  at  the  manner  in  which  the  soldiers  of 
the  country  are  treated  :  I  have  still  at  heart  the  massacres  at  Nancy 
and  in  the  Champ  de  Mars.'  Here  some  aides-de-camp  of  Dumouriez 
began  to  declaim  against  agitators.  'Cease  those  ridiculous  exclama- 
tions!' I  exclaimed;  'there  are  no  agitators  in  our  armies  but  the 
infamous  otiicers,  their  spies,  and  the  perfidious  courtiers,  whom  we  have 
had  the  folly  to  leave  at  the  head  of  our  troops.'  I  spoke  to  Moreton 
Chabrillant  and  to  Bourdoin,  one  of  whom  was  formerly  a  valet  of  the 
( '"iirt,  and  the  other  a  spy  of  Lafayette. 

"1  was  indignant  at  all  that  I  had  heard,  and  at  all  the  atrocity  that 
I  suspected  in  the  odious  conduct  of  our  generals.  As  I  could  not  bear 
to  stay  any  longer,  I  left  the  party,  and  I  beheld  with  astonishment  in 
the  adjoining  room,  the  doors  of  which  were  ajar,  several  of  Dumouriez's 
heiduks  with  drawn  swords  at  their  shoulders.  I  know  not  what  could 
lie  the  object  of  this  ridiculous  farce;  if  it  was  contrived  for  the  purpose 
of  intimidating  me,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  valets  of  Dumouriez 
entertain  high  notions  of  liberty.  Have  patience,  gentlemen,  we  will 
teach  you  to  know  it.  Meanwhile  he  assured  thai  your  master  dreads 
the  point  of  my  pen  much  more  than  1  fear  the  swords  of  his  raga- 
muffins." 


384  APPENDICES. 

V. 
[Page  113.] 

MONTESQDIOU. 

"Anne  Pierre  Montesquiou  Fezenzac,  born  in  1741,  was  a  major- 
general,  a  member  of  the  French  Academy,  and  deputy  from  the 
nobility  of  Paris  to  the  States-general.  In  1791,  at  the  time  of  the 
King's  flight,  he  declared  himself  devoted  to  the  Assembly,  and  renew- 
ing his  civic  oath,  was  sent  into  the  departments  of  the  Moselle,  the 
Meuse,  and  the  Ardennes,  in  order  to  dispose  the  minds  of  the  people 
in  favour  of  the  Assembly.  Some  time  after  he  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  army  of  the  South ;  he  was  soon  afterwards 
denounced  by  Barrere  as  having  sought  to  favour  the  King  of  Sardinia, 
and  hurt  the  interest  of  the  patriots  in  his  treaty  with  the  republic  of 
Geneva.  A  decree  of  accusation  was  then  passed  against  him,  but  when 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  seize  him  arrived  at  the  gates  of  Geneva, 
they  learned  that  he  was  gone  into  Switzerland,  and  had  carried  with 
him  the  military  chest,  to  compensate  for  the  property  he  had  left  in 
France.  A  decree  of  1795  left  Montesquiou  at  liberty  to  return  to 
France;  and  in  1797  he  reappeared  in  the  constitutional  circle,  which 
the  Directory  then  endeavoured  to  oppose  to  the  Clichyan  party.  He 
died  at  Paris  in  1798." — Biographie  Modeme. 


w. 

[Page  119.] 
Jerome  Petion. 

Among  the  coolest  and  most  impartial  minds  of  the  Revolution  must 
be  placed  Petion.  No  one  has  formed  a  sounder  judgment  of  the  two 
parties  which  divided  the  Convention.  His  equity  was  so  well  known 
that  both  sides  agreed  to  choose  him  for  their  umpire.  The  accusations 
which  took  place  at  the  very  opening  of  the  Assembly  excited  warm 
disputes  at  the  Jacobins.  Fabre  d'Eglantine  proposed  that  the  matter 
should  be  referred  to  Petion's  decision.  On  this  subject  he  thus  ex- 
pressed himself  in  the  sitting  of  October  29,  1792 : — 

"  There  is  another  way  which  I  think  useful,  and  which  will  produce 
a  greater  effect.  Almost  always  when  any  vast  intrigue  has  been  on 
foot,  it  has  had  need  of  power.  It  has  been  obliged  to  make  great 
efforts  to  attach  a  great  personal  credit  to  itself.  If  there  existed  a 
man  who  had  seen  everything,  who  had  appreciated  everything  in  both 
parties,  you  could  not  doubt  that  this  man,  a  friend  to  truth,  would  be 
most  fit  to  make  it  known.  Well,  I  propose  that  you  invite  this  man, 
a  member  of  your  society,  to  pronounce  upon  the  crimes  that  are  im- 
puted to  the  patriots.  Force  his  virtue  to  tell  all  that  he  has  seen — 
that  man  is  Petion.  Whatever  partiality  a  man  may  have  for  his 
friends,  I  venture  to  assert  that  intriguers  have  not  corrupted  Petion  ; 


APPENDICES.  385 

he  is  still  pure,  still  sincere.  I  say  so  here.  I  frequently  talk  to  him 
in  the  Convention,  in  moments  of  agitation,  and  he  always  tells  me  that 
he  grieves.  I  see  that  he  does  grieve — inwardly.  This  morning  he 
determined  to  ascend  the  tribune.  He  cannot  refuse  to  write  you  his 
opinion,  and  we  shall  see  if  intriguers  can  divert  him  from  it. 

"  Observe,  citizens,  that  this  step  of  itself  will  prove  that  you  seek 
nothing  but  the  truth.  It  is  an  homage  which  you  pay  to  the  virtue 
of  a  good  patriot,  with  the  more  urgent  motives,  since  liars  have  wrapped 
themselves  up  in  his  virtue  to  give  themselves  consequence.  I  demand 
that  the  motion  be  put  to  the  vote."     (Applause.) 

Legendre  then  spoke.  "The  thing  was  contrived,  that  is  evident. 
The  distribution  of  Brissot's  speech,  the  report  of  the  minister  of  the 
interior,  the  speech  of  Louvet  brought  in  his  pocket,  all  proved  that 
the  matter  was  concerted.  The  speech  of  Brissot  on  the  erasure  con- 
tains all  that  Louvet  has  said.  The  report  of  Roland  was  intended  to 
furnish  Louvet  with  an  opportunity  for  speaking.  I  approve  of  Fabre's 
motion ;  the  Convention  will  soon  pronounce ;  Robespierre  is  to  be 
heard  on  Monday.  I  beg  the  society  to  suspend  the  decision.  It  is 
impossible  that  in  a  free  country  virtue  should  succumb  to  crime." 

After  this  quotation,  I  think  it  right  to  introduce  the  paper  written 
by  Petion  relative  to  the  dispute  between  Louvet  and  Robespierre. 
This  paper,  and  the  extracts  given  elsewhere  from  Garat,  contain  the 
most  valuable  particulars  respecting  the  conduct  and  character  of  the 
men  of  that  time,  and  they  are  documents  which  history  ought  to  pre- 
serve as  most  capable  of  conveying  just  ideas  of  that  epoch. 

"Citizens,  I  had  determined  to  observe  the  most  absolute  silence 
relative  to  the  events  which  have  occurred  since  the  10th  of  August; 
motives  of  delicacy  and  solicitude  for  the  public  welfare  decided  me  to 
use  this  reserve. 

"  But  it  is  impossible  to  be  silent  any  longer :  on  both  sides  my  testi- 
mony is  called  for ;  every  one  urges  me  to  declare  my  sentiments.  I  will 
tell  with  frankness  what  I  know  of  men,  what  I  think  of  things. 

"I  have  been  a  near  spectator  of  the  scenes  of  the  Revolution.  1 
have  seen  the  cabals,  the  intrigues,  the  tumultuous  struggles  between 
tyranny  and  liberty,  between  vice  and  virtue. 

"When  the  working  of  the  human  passions  is  laid  bare,  when  we 
perceive  the  secret  springs  which  have  directed  the  most  important 
operations,  when  we  know  all  the  perils  which  liberty  has  incurred, 
when  we  penetrate  into  the  abyss  of  corruption  which  threatened  every 
moment  to  engulf  us,  we  ask  ourselves  with  astonishment  by  what  series 
of  prodigies  we  have  arrived  at  the  point  where  we  this  day  are  ! 

"  Revolutions  ought  to  be  seen  at  a  distance  :  this  veil  is  highly 
necessary  to  them ;  ages  efface  the  stains  which  darken  them ;  posterity 
perceives  only  the  results.  Our  descendants  will  deem  us  great.  Let 
us  render  them  better  than  ourselves. 

"  I  pass  over  the  circumstances  anterior  to  that  ever-memorable  day 
which  erected  liberty  upon  the  ruins  of  tyranny,  and  changed  tho 
monarchy  into  a  republic. 

"The  "men  who  have  attributed  to  themselves  the  glory  of  that  day 
are  the  men  to  whom  it  least  belongs:  it  is  due  to  those  who  prepared 
it;  it  is  due  to  the  imperious  nature  of  tilings;  it  is  due  to  the  brave 
federalists,  and  to  their  secret  directory,  which  had  long  been  concerting 
tho  plan  of  the  insurrection;  it  is  due  to  the  people;  lastly,  it  is  due  to 
the  guardian  spirit  which  has  constantly  presided  over  the  destinies  of 
France  ever  since  the  lirst  assembly  of  her  representatives. 

vol..  11.  53 


386  APPENDICES. 

"  Success,  it  must  be  admitted,  was  for  a  moment  uncertain ;  and 
those  who  are  really  acquainted  with  the  particulars  of  that  day  know 
who  were  the  intrepid  defenders  of  the  country,  that  prevented  the 
Swiss  and  all  the  satellites  of  despotism  from  remaining  masters  of  the 
field  of  battle,  and  who  they  were  that  rallied  the  civic  legions,  which 
were  for  a  moment  staggered. 

"That  day  had  been  brought  about,  too,  without  the  concurrence  of 
the  commissioners  of  several  sections  assembled  at  the  house  of  the 
commune.  The  members  of  the  old  municipality,  who  had  not  separated 
the  whole  night,  were  still  sitting  at  half-past  nine  in  the  morning. 

"  These  commissioners  conceived,  nevertheless,  a  grand  idea,  and  took 
a  bold  step  by  possessing  themselves  of  all  the  municipal  powers,  and 
in  stepping  into  the  place  of  a  general  council,  of  whose  weakness  and 
corruption  they  were  apprehensive.  They  courageously  risked  their  lives 
in  case  success  should  not  justify  the  enterprise. 

"  Had  these  commissioners  been  wise  enough  to  lay  down  their 
authority  at  the  right  time,  to  return  to  the  rank  of  private  citizens 
after  the  patriotic  action  which  they  had  performed,  they  would  have 
covered  themselves  with  glory ;  but  they  could  not  withstand  the 
allurement  of  power,  and  the  ambition  of  governing  took  possession 
of  them. 

"  In  the  first  intoxicating  moments  of  the  triumph  of  liberty,  and 
after  so  violent  a  commotion,  it  was  impossible  that  everything  should 
be  instantly  restored  to  tranquillity  and  to  its  accustomed  order ;  it 
would  have  been  unjust  to  require  this  :  the  new  council  of  the  com- 
mune was  then  assailed  with  reproaches  that  were  not  well  founded, 
and  that  proved  an  ignorance  both  of  its  situation  and  of  circumstances ; 
but  these  commissioners  began  to  deserve  them  when  they  themselves 
prolonged  the  revolutionary  movement  beyond  the  proper  time. 

"  The  National  Assembly  had  spoken  out ;  it  had  assumed  a  grand 
character  ;  it  had  passed  decrees  which  saved  the  empire  ;  it  had  sus- 
pended the  King  ;  it  had  effaced  the  line  of  demarcation  which  divided 
the  citizens  into  two  classes  ;  it  had  called  together  the  Convention. 
The  royalist  party  was  cast  down.  It  was  necessary  thenceforth  to 
rally  around  it,  to  fortify  it  with  opinion,  to  environ  it  with  confidence  : 
duty  and  sound  policy  dictated  this  course. 

"  The  commune  deemed  it  more  glorious  to  vie  with  the  Assembly. 
It  began  a  struggle  likely  only  to  throw  discredit  on  all  that  had  passed, 
to  induce  a  belief  that  the  Assembly  was  under  the  irresistible  yoke  of 
circumstances  ;  it  obeyed  or  withstood  decrees  according  as  they  favoured 
or  thwarted  its  views  ;  in  its  representations  to  the  Legislative  Body  it 
used  imperious  and  irritating  language  ;  it  affected  power,  and  knew  not 
either  how  to  enjoy  its  triumphs  or  to  cause  them  to  be  forgiven. 

"  Pains  had  been  successfully  taken  to  persuade  some,  that  so  long 
as  the  revolutionary  state  lasted,  power  had  reverted  to  its  source,  that 
the  National  Assembly  was  without  character,  that  its  existence  was  pre- 
carious, and  that  the  communal  assemblies  were  the  only  legal  deposi- 
taries of  authority. 

"  To  others  it  had  been  insinuated  that  the  leaders  of  opinion  in  the 
National  Assembly  entertained  perfidious  designs,  and  intended  to  over- 
throw liberty,  and  to  deliver  the  republic  into  the  hands  of  foreigners. 

"  Hence  a  great  number  of  members  of  the  council  conceived  that  they 
were  exercising  a  legitimate  right  when  they  usurped  authority,  that 
they  were  resisting  oppression  when  they  opposed  the  law,  and  that 
they  were  performing  an  act  of  civism  when  they  were  violating  their 


APPENDICES.  387 

duties  as  citizens ;  nevertheless  amidst  this  anarchy  the  commune  from 
time  to  time  passed  salutary  resolutions. 

"  I  had  been  retained  in  my  office  ;  but  it  was  now  merely  an  empty 
title  ;  I  sought  its  functions  to  no  purpose  ;  they  were  dispersed  among 
a  thousand  hands,  and  everybody  exercised  them. 

"  I  went  during  the  first  days  to  the  council.  I  was  alarmed  at  the 
tumult  which  prevailed  in  that  assembly,  and  still  more  at  the  spirit  by 
which  it  was  swayed.  It  was  no  longer  an  administrative  body,  deli- 
berating on  the  communal  affairs ;  it  was  a  political  assembly,  deeming 
itself  invested  with  full  powers,  discussing  the  great  interests  of  the 
State,  examining  the  laws  enacted,  and  promulgating  new  ones  ;  nothing 
was  there  talked  of  but  plots  against  the  public  liberty ;  citizens  were 
denounced  ;  they  were  summoned  to  the  bar,  they  were  publicly  ex- 
amined, they  were  tried,  they  were  dismissed,  acquitted,  or  confined ; 
the  ordinary  rules  were  set  aside.  Such  was  the  agitation  of  the  public 
mind,  that  it  was  impossible  to  control  this  torrent ;  all  the  deliberations 
were  carried  on  with  the  impetuosity  of  enthusiasm ;  they  followed  one 
another  with  frightful  rapidity ;  night  and  day  there  was  no  interrup- 
tion ;  the  council  was  continually  sitting. 

"  I  would  not  have  my  name  attached  to  a  multitude  of  acts  so 
irregular,  so  contrary  to  sound  principles. 

"  I  was  equally  sensible  how  wise  and  how  useful  it  would  be  not  to 
approve,  not  to  sanction  by  my  presence,  all  that  was  done.  Those 
members  of  the  council  who  were  afraid  to  see  me  there,  who  were 
annoyed  at  my  attendance,  strongly  desired  that  the  people,  whose 
confidence  I  retained,  should  believe  that  I  presided  over  its  operations, 
and  that  nothing  was  done  but  in  concert  with  me  :  my  reserve  on  this 
point  increased  their  enmity  ;  but  they  durst  not  display  it  too  openly, 
for  fear  of  displeasing  the  people,  whose  favour  they  coveted. 

"  I  rarely  attended  ;  and  the  conduct  which  I  pursued  in  this  very 
delicate  situation  between  the  old  municipality,  which  complained  of  its 
removal,  and  the  new  one,  which  pretended  to  be  legally  instituted,  was 
not  unserviceable  to  the  public  tranquillity;  for  if  I  had  then  pronounced 
decisively  for  or  against,  I  should  have  occasioned  a  rupture  that  might 
have  been  attended  with  most  mischievous  consequences.  In  everything 
thero  is  a  point  of  maturity  which  it  is  requisite  to  know  how  to  seize. 

"  The  administration  was  neglected ;  the  mayor  was  no  longer  a  centre 
of  unity  ;  all  the  threads  that  I  held  in  my  hands  were  cut ;  the-  power 
was  dispersed;  the  action  of  superintendence  was  destitute  of  power; 
the  restraining  action  was  equally  so. 

"  Robespierre  assumed,  then,  the  ascendency  in  the  council,  and  it 
could  scarcely  have  been  otherwise  under  the  circumstances  in  which  we 
were,  and  with  the  temper  of  his  mind.  I  heard  him  deliver  a  speech 
which  grieved  me  to  the  soul !  the  decree  for  opening  tho  barriers  was 
under  discussion,  and  on  this  topic  he  launched  out  into  oxtremely 
animated  declamations,  full  of  the  extravagances  of  a  gloomy  imagi- 
nation :  lie  saw  precipices  beneath  his  feet,  plots  for  the  destruction  of 
liberty;  lie  pointed  out  the  alleged  conspirators;  he  addressed  himself 
to  tin;  people,  heated  their  minds,  anil  produced  in  his  hearers  the 
strongest  ferment. 

"  L  replied  to  this  speech  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  calmness,  dis- 
pelling those  dark  illusions,  and  bringing  back  the  discussion  to  the  only 
point  that  ought  tooccupy  the  attention  of  the  assembly. 

"  Robespierre  and  his  partisans  were  thus  hurrying  tho  commnno  into 
inconsiderate  proceedings — into  extreme  courses. 


388  APPENDICES. 

"  I  was  not  on  this  account  suspicious  of  the  intentions  of  Robespierre. 
I  found  more  fault  with  his  head  than  with  his  heart ;  but  the  conse- 
quences of  these  gloomy  visions  excited  in  me  not  the  less  apprehension. 

"The  tribunes  of  the  council  rang  every  day  with  violent  invectives. 
The  members  could  not  persuade  themselves  that  they  were  magistrates 
appointed  to  carry  the  laws  into  execution  and  to  maintain  order.  They 
always  considered  themselves  as  forming  a  revolutionary  association. 

"  The  assembled  sections  received  this  influence,  and  communicated  it 
in  their  turn,  so  that  all  Paris  was  at  once  in  a  ferment. 

"  The  committee  of  surveillance  of  the  commune  filled  the  prisons.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that,  if  several  of  its  arrests  were  just  and  necessary, 
others  amounted  to  a  stretch  of  the  law.  The  chiefs  were  not  so  much 
to  be  blamed  for  this  as  their  agents ;  the  police  had  bad  advisers ;  one 
man  in  particular,  whose  name  has  become  a  byword,  whose  name  alone 
strikes  terror  into  the  souls  of  all  peaceable  citizens,  seemed  to  have 
seized  the  direction  of  its  movements.  Assiduous  in  his  attendance  at 
all  conferences,  he  interfered  in  all  matters ;  he  talked,  he  ordered,  like 
a  master.  I  complained  loudly  of  this  to  the  commune,  and  I  con- 
cluded my  opinion  in  these  words :  '  Marat  is  either  the  most  wrong- 
headed  or  the  most  wicked  of  men.'  From  that  day  I  have  never 
mentioned  him. 

"  Justice  was  slow  in  pronouncing  upon  the  fate  of  the  prisoners,  and 
the  prisons  became  more  and  more  crowded.  On  the  23rd  of  August  a 
section  came  in  deputation  to  the  council  of  the  commune,  and  formally 
declared  that  the  citizens,  tired  of  and  indignant  at  the  delay  of  judg- 
ment, would  break  open  the  doors  of  those  asylums,  and  sacrifice  the 
culprits  confined  in  them  to  their  vengeance.  .  .  .  This  petition,  couched 
in  the  most  furious  language,  met  with  no  censure ;  nay,  it  received 
applause  ! 

"On  the  25th,  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  armed  citizens 
set  out  from  Paris  to  remove  the  State  prisoners  confined  at  Orleans  to 
other  places. 

"  Disastrous  intelligence  arrived  to  increase  still  more  the  agitation  of 
the  public  mind ;  the  treason  of  Longwy  became  known,  and  some  days 
afterwards  the  siege  of  Verdun. 

"  On  the  27th  the  National  Assembly  invited  the  department  of  Paris, 
and  those  contiguous  to  it,  to  furnish  thirty  thousand  armed  men  to  be 
despatched  to  the  frontiers.  This  decree  excited  a  fresh  sensation, 
which  combined  with  that  already  prevailing. 

"On  the  31st  the  acquittal  of  Montmorin  produced  a  popular  com- 
motion. It  was  rumoured  that  he  had  been  saved  through  the  perfidy 
of  an  emissary  of  the  King,  who  had  led  the  jurors  into  error. 

"At  the  same  moment  a  revelation  of  a  plot  made  by  a  condemned 
person  was  published — a  plot  tending  to  effect  the  escape  of  all  the 
px-isoners,  who  were  then  to  spread  themselves  through  the  city,  to 
commit  all  sorts  of  excesses,  and  to  carry  off  the  King. 

"  Agitation  was  at  its  height.  The  commune,  in  order  to  excite  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  citizens,  and  to  induce  them  to  enrol  themselves  the 
more  freely,  had  resolved  that  they  should  assemble  with  great  parade 
in  the  Champ  de  Mars,  amidst  the  discharge  of  cannon. 

"  The  2nd  of  September  arrived.  Oh,  day  of  horror  !  The  alarm-gun 
was  fired,  the  tocsin  rang.  At  this  doleful  and  alarming  sound  a  mob 
collected,  broke  into  the  prisons,  murdering  and  slaughtering.  Manuel 
and  several  deputies  of  the  National  Assembly  repaired  to  those  scenes 
of  carnage.     Their  efforts  were  useless ;  the  victims  were  sacrificed  in 


APPENDICES.  389 

their  very  arms  !  I  was  meanwhile  in  a  false  security :  I  was  ignorant 
of  these  cruelties  ;  for  some  time  past,  nothing  whatever  had  been  com- 
municated to  me.  At  length  I  was  informed  of  them  ;  but  how  ?  In  a 
vague,  indirect,  disfigured  manner  I  was  told  at  the  same  time  that  all 
was  over.  The  most  afflicting  particulars  afterwards  reached  me ;  but 
I  felt  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  day  which  had  witnessed  such 
atrocious  scenes  could  never  return.  They  nevertheless  continued :  I 
wrote  to  the  commandant-general.  I  required  him  to  despatch  forces 
to  the  prisons.  At  first  he  gave  me  no  answer.  I  wrote  again.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  given  his  orders.  Nothing  indicated  that  those  orders 
were  attended  to.  Still  they  continued.  I  went  to  the  council  of  the 
commune;  thence  I  repaired  to  the  hotel  of  La  Force  with  several  of 
my  colleagues.  The  street  leading  to  that  prison  was  crowded  with 
very  peaceable  citizens ;  a  weak  guard  was  at  the  door ;  I  entered.  .  .  . 
Never  will  the  spectacle  that  I  there  beheld  be  effaced  from  my  memory. 
I  saw  two  municipal  officers  in  their  scarfs :  I  saw  three  men  quietly 
seated  at  a  table,  with  lists  of  the  prisoners  lying  open  before  them ; 
these  were  calling  over  the  names  of  the  prisoners.  Other  men  were 
examining  them,  others  performing  the  office  of  judges  and  jurors  ;  a 
dozen  executioners  with  bare  arms,  covered  with  blood,  some  with  clubs, 
others  with  swords  and  cutlasses  dripping  with  gore,  were  executing 
the  sentences  forthwith ;  citizens  outside  awaiting  these  sentences— 
with  impatience  observing  the  saddest  silence  at  the  decrees  of  death, 
and  raising  shouts  of  joy  at  those  of  acquittal. 

"And  the  men  who  sat  as  judges,  and  those  who  acted  as  execu- 
tioners, felt  the  same  security  as  if  the  law  had  called  them  to  perform 
those  functions.  They  boasted  to  me  of  their  justice,  of  their  attention 
to  distinguish  the  innocent  from  the  guilty,  of  the  services  which  they 
had  rendered.  They  demanded — will  it  be  believed — they  demanded 
payment  for  the  time  they  had  been  so  employed  !  .  .  .  I  was  really 
confounded  to  hear  them  ! 

"  I  addressed  to  them  the  austere  language  of  the  law.  I  spoke  to 
them  with  the  feeling  of  profound  indignation  with  which  I  was  pene- 
trated. I  made  them  all  leave  the  place  before  me.  No  sooner  had  I 
gone  myself  than  they  returned;  I  went  back  to  the  places  to  drive 
them  away  ;  but  in  the  night  they  completed  their  horrid  butchery. 

"  Were  these  murders  commanded — were  they  directed  by  any  persons!' 
1  have  had  lists  before  me,  I  have  received  reports,  and  I  have  collected 
particulars.  If  I  had  to  pronounce  as  judge,  I  could  not  say,  This  is 
the  culprit. 

"  It  is  my  opinion  that  those  crimes  would  not  have  had  such  fret) 
scope,  that  they  might  have  been  stopped,  if  all  those  who  had  power 
in  their  hands  and  energy  had  viewed  them  with  horror;  but  I  will 
affirm,  because  it  is  true,  that  several  of  these  public  men,  of  these 
defenders  of  the  country,  conceived  that  those  disastrous  and  disgrace- 
ful proceedings  were  accessary,  that  they  purged  the  empire  of  dan- 
gerous persons,  that  they  struck  terror  into  the  souls  of  the  conspirators, 
and  that  these  crimes,  morally  odious,  wcro  politically  serviceable. 

"  Yes,  this  is  what  cooled  the  zeal  of  those  to  whom  the  law  had  com- 
mitted the  maintenance  of  order  of  those  to  whom  it  had  assigned  the 
protection  of  persons  and  property. 

"  It   is  obvious  how  the    2nd,  3rd,  4th,  and  5th  of   September  may  be 

connected  with  the  immortal  10th  of  August;  how  the  former  may  be 
represented  as  a  sequel  to  the  revolutionary  movement  imparted  on 
that    day,  the   first   in   the  annals  of    the    republic ;    hut     I    cannot   bring 


3QO  APPENDICES. 

myself  to  confound  glory  with  infamy,  and  to  stain  the  loth  of  August 
with  the  atrocities  of  the  2nd  of  September. 

"  The  committee  of  surveillance  actually  issued  an  order  for  the  arrest 
of  Roland,  the  minister.  This  was  on  the  4th,  and  the  massacres  still 
continued.  Danton  was  informed  of  it ;  he  came  to  the  mairie ;  he  was 
with  Robespierre ;  he  warmly  inveighed  against  this  arbitrary,  this  mad 
act ;  it  would  have  ruined,  not  Roland,  but  those  who  had  decreed  it. 
Danton  obtained  its  revocation  ;  it  was  buried  in  oblivion. 

"  I  had  an  explanation  with  Robespierre ;  it  was  very  warm.  To 
his  face  I  have  never  spared  those  reproaches  which  friendship  has 
tempered  in  his  absence.  I  said  to  him,  '  Robespierre,  you  are  doing 
a  great  deal  of  mischief.  Your  denunciations,  your  alarms,  your  ani- 
mosities, your  suspicions,  agitate  the  people.  But  come,  explain  your- 
self. Have  you  facts  ?  have  you  proofs  ?  I  am  ready  to  meet  you ;  I 
am  attached  to  truth  alone ;  I  want  but  liberty.' 

" '  You  suffer  yourself  to  be  surrounded,  you  suffer  yourself  to  be  pre- 
possessed,' said  he ;  '  you  are  biassed  against  me ;  you  see  my  enemies 
every  day ;  you  see  Brissot  and  his  party.' 

" '  You  are  mistaken,  Robespierre.  No  man  is  more  on  his  guard  than 
myself  against  prepossessions,  or  judges  more  coolly  of  men  and  things. 
I  see  Brissot,  it  is  true,  though  very  rarely ;  but  you  do  not  know  him, 
whereas  I  have  known  him  from  a  boy.  I  have  seen  him  in  those 
moments  when  the  whole  soul  exhibits  itself  to  view,  when  it  abandons 
itself  without  reserve  to  friendship  and  confidence.  I  know  his  disin- 
terestedness, I  know  his  principles,  and  I  protest  to  you  that  they  are 
pure.  Those  who  make  a  party  leader  of  him  have  not  the  slightest 
idea  of  his  character :  he  possesses  intelligence  and  knowledge,  but 
he  has  neither  the  reserve,  nor  the  dissimulation,  nor  the  insinuating 
manners,  nor  that  spirit  of  sequence,  which  constitute  a  party  leader ; 
and  what  will  surprise  you  is,  that  instead  of  leading  others,  he  is  very 
easily  misled  himself.' 

"Robespierre  persisted  in  his  opinion,  but  confined  himself  to  gene- 
ralities. '  Do  let  us  understand  one  another,'  said  I ;  '  tell  nie  frankly 
what  you  have  upon  your  mind,  what  you  know.' 

"'Well  then,'  he  replied, '  I  believe  that  Brissot  is  with  Brunswick.' 

" '  What  an  egregious  mistake ! '  I  exclaimed :  '  nay,  it  is  truly  in- 
sanity :  that  is  the  way  in  which  your  imagination  misleads  you :  would 
not  Brunswick  be  the  first  to  cut  off  his  head?  Brissot  is  not  silly 
enough  to  doubt  it.  Which  of  us  seriously  can  capitulate  ?  which  of  us 
does  not  risk  his  life  ?     Let  us  banish  unjust  suspicions.' 

"  I  return  to  the  events  of  which  I  have  given  you  a  faint  sketch. 
These  events,  and  some  of  those  which  preceded  the  celebrated  10th 
of  August,  an  attentive  consideration  of  the  facts  and  of  a  multitude 
of  circumstances,  have  induced  a  belief  that  intriguers  were  striving  to 
make  a  tool  of  the  people,  in  order  with  the  people  to  make  themselves 
masters  of  the  supreme  authority.  Robespierre  has  been  openly  named  ; 
his  connections  have  been  examined,  his  conduct  analyzed  ;  an  expression, 
dropped,  it  is  said,  by  one  of  his  friends,  has  been  caught  up,  and  it  has 
been  inferred  that  Robespierre  cherished  the  mad  ambition  of  becoming 
the  dictator  of  his  country. 

"  The  character  of  Robespierre  accounts  for  his  actions.  Robespierre 
is  extremely  suspicious  and  distrustful.  He  everywhere  perceives  plots, 
treasons,  precipices.  His  bilious  temperament,  his  splenetic  imagination, 
present  all  objects  to  him  in  gloomy  colours.  Imperious  in  his  opinion, 
listening  to  none  but  himself,  impatient  of  contradiction,  never  forgiving 


APPENDICES.  391 

any  one  who  may  have  hurt  his  self-love,  and  never  acknowledging  him- 
self in  the  wrong ;  denouncing  on  the  slightest  grounds,  and  irritating 
himself  on  the  slightest  suspicion,  always  conceiving  that  people  are 
watching  and  designing  to  persecute  him ;  boasting  of  himself,  and 
talking  without  reserve  of  his  services  ;  an  utter  stranger  to  decorum, 
and  thus  injuring  the  cause  which  he  defends;  coveting  above  all  things 
the  favour  of  the  people,  continually  paying  court  to  them,  and  earnestly 
seeking  their  applause  ;  it  is  this,  it  is,  above  all,  this  last  weakness  that, 
mixing  itself  up  with  all  the  acts  of  his  public  life,  has  induced  a  belief 
that  Robespierre  aspired  to  high  destinies,  and  that  he  wanted  to  usurp 
the  dictatorial  power. 

"  For  my  part,  I  cannot  persuade  myself  that  this  chimera  has  seriously 
engaged  his  thoughts,  that  it  has  been  the  object  of  his  wishes  and  the 
aim  of  his  ambition. 

"  He  is  nevertheless  a  man  who  has  intoxicated  himself  with  this 
fantastic  notion,  who  has  never  ceased  to  call  for  a  dictatorship  in 
France  as  a  blessing,  as  the  only  government  that  could  save  us  from 
the  anarchy  that  he  preached,  that  could  lead  us  to  liberty  and  happi- 
ness !  He  solicited  this  tyrannical  power,  for  whom  ?  You  would  never 
believe  it ;  you  are  not  aware  of  the  full  extent  of  the  delirium  of  his 
vanity :  he  solicited  it  for  whom,  yes,  for  whom,  but  Marat !  If  his 
folly  were  not  ferocious,  there  would  be  nothing  so  ridiculous  as  that 
creature  on  whom  nature  seems  purposely  to  have  set  the  seal  of 
reprobation." 


X. 

[Page  129.] 
Pache. 

"  Jean  Nicolas  Pache,  war  minister,  and  afterwards  mayor  of  Paris, 
son  of  the  Marshal  de  Castries's  Swiss  porter,  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, and  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  wont  to  Paris,  and  eagerly 
embraced  the  new  ideas.  An  air  of  modesty  and  disinterestedness, 
which  seemed  to  exclude  all  ambition,  gave  him  some  weight  with  the 
revolutionary  party.  He  connected  himself  with  Brissot,  and  first  began 
to  work  under  the  ministers,  with  a  view  of  becoming  one  himself. 
In  1792  he  succeeded  Servan  in  the  war  department.  Pache,  having 
chosen  his  coadjutors  from  among  persons  new  to  office,  who  were 
anxious  to  figure  in  the  Jacobin  Society  rather  than  to  fulfil  their  duty, 
frequently  gave  cause  of  complaint.  In  1793  ne  was  made  mayor  of 
I'aris,  and  appeared  at  the  bar  of  the  Convention,  at  the  head  of  a  depu- 
tation of  the  sections,  to  demand  the  expulsion  of  Brissot  and  others 
of  the  Gironde  party.  Having  survived  the  Reign  of  Terror,  he  was 
accused  by  the  Directory  of  various  arbitrary  acts,  but  contrived  to 
escape  prosecution,  and  quitting  I'aris  in  1797,  lived  afterwards  in 
retiremeni  and  obscurity." — Biographic  Modeme. 

"The  peculation,  or  the  profuse  expenditure  at  Least,  that  took  place 
in  the  war  department  during  l'aehe's  administration  was  horrible.  In 
the  twenty-four  hours  that  preceded  his  dismissal  he  filled  up  sixty  dif- 
ferent places  with  all  the  persons  he  knew  of  who  were  base  enough  to 
pay  their  court  to  him,  down  to  his  very  hairdresser,  a  blackguard  boy  of 
nineteen,  whom  he  made  a  muster-master."     Madavu   Roland's  Memoirs. 


392  APPENDICES. 


[Page  131.] 
General  Beaulieu. 

"  Baron  de  Beaulieu  was  an  Austrian  general  of  artillery.  After 
having  served  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  he  lived  peaceably  till  1789, 
the  time  of  the  revolt  in  Brabant.  He  there  commanded  a  body  of  the 
shattered  Austrian  anny,  attacked  the  rebels,  defeated  them,  and  soon 
put  an  end  to  the  war.  In  1792  Beaulieu  defeated  a  numerous  French 
corps  under  General  Biron,  and  forced  them  to  draw  back  towards 
Valenciennes.  In  1794  he  commanded  in  the  province  of  Luxembourg, 
and  gained  a  battle  near  Arlon  over  a  division  of  Jourdan's  army.  In 
1796  he  took  the  chief  command  of  the  army  of  Italy,  but  was  con- 
stantly beaten  by  Bonaparte.  The  same  year  he  quitted  his  command, 
and  was  succeeded  by  M.  de  Wurmser,  who  was  still  more  unfortunate 
than  he  had  been." — Biographie  Moderne. 


z. 

[Page  132.] 
King  Louis  Philippe. 

"  Louis  Philippe,  eldest  son  of  the  Due  cl'Orleans  (Egalite)  and  of 
Marie  Adelaide  de  Bourbon  Penthievre,  grand-daughter  of  a  natural  son 
of  Louis  XIV.  by  Madame  Montespan,  was  born  at  Paris  in  1773.  The 
line  of  Bourbon-Orleans  was  founded  by  Philippe,  brother  of  the  Grand 
Monarque,  who  conf ex-red  on  lxhxx  the  duchy  of  Orleaxxs.  In  1782  the 
Due  de  Clxartres's  education  was  entrusted  to  the  Coxxxtesse  de  Gexxlis. 
Ixx  1792  he  fought  under  Duxxxouriez  at  Valmy,  and  displayed  great 
bravery  and  judgment.  He  also  distingxxished  himself  highly  at  the 
battle  of  Jenxappes.  Shortly  aftex-wards,  having  frankly  expressed  his 
horror  of  the  revolutioixary  excesses  in  Fraxxce,  a  decree  of  arrest  was 
issued  against  him.  He  theix  quitted  the  army  and  his  countxy,  and 
obtained  passports  for  Switzexiaxxd,  but  x-eceived  notice  that  no  part  of 
the  cantoxxs  was  safe  for  hinx.  Aloxxe,  however,  axxd  oxx  foot,  aixd  ahxxost 
withoxxt  nxoxxey,  he  began  his  travels  ixx  the  ixxterior  of  Switzerland  and 
the  Alps,  axxd  at  length  obtaixxed  the  sitxxatioxx  of  px'ofessor  at  the 
college  of  Reicheixau,  where  he  taixght  geography,  histoxy,  the  French 
axxd  English  languages,  axxd  mathematics,  for  four  months,  withoixt 
havixxg  beeix  discovered.  It  was  hex-e  he  learned  the  tragical  exxd  of 
his  father.  On  quittixxg  Reichexxaxx,  the  Due  de  Chartres,  now  become 
Dixc  d'Orleans,  x-etired  to  Brexxxgarten,  where  he  rexxxaixxed,  under  the 
xxaixxe  of  Corby,  till  the  end  of  1794,  when,  his  retreat  beixxg  discovered, 
he  x-esolved  on  goixxg  to  Axxxerica ;  bxxt  beixxg  unable  to  obtain  the 
necessary  pecuxxiary  means,  he  tx'avelled  instead  through  Norway  and 
Swedexx,  journeyed  oxx  foot  with  the  Laplandei's,  axxd  reached  the  North 
Cape  in    1795.     I11  the  following  year  he  set  out  for  Axixerica,  and  paid 


APPENDICES.  393 

a  visit  to  General  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon.  He  afterwards  went 
to  England,  and  established  himself  with  his  brothers  at  Twickenham. 
In  1809  the  Duke  was  married  at  Palermo  to  the  Princess  Amelia, 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Sicily.  After  the  fall  of  Napoleon  he  returned 
to  Paris,  and  in  1 8 1 5  was  ordered  by  Louis  to  take  the  command  of 
the  army  of  the  North.  He  soon,  however,  resigned  it,  and  fixed  his 
residence,  with  his  family,  again  at  Twickenham.  After  the  Hundred 
Days  he  went  back  to  Paris,  took  his  seat  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers, 
but  manifested  such  liberal  sentiments  as  to  render  himself  obnoxious 
to  the  administration.  In  consequence  of  the  memorable  events  of 
July  1830,  he  was  proclaimed  lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom,  and 
finally,  on  the  abdication  of  Charles  X.,  King  of  the  French." — Ency- 
cloimdia  Americana. 


AA. 

[Page  133.] 

General  Dampierre. 

"  Dampierre  was  an  officer  in  the  French  guards,  afterwards  colonel  of 
the  5th  dragoon  regiment,  and  finally  a  republican  general.  In  1792  he 
served  under  Dumouriez,  and  excited  particular  notice  by  his  bravery 
at  Jemappes.  At  the  time  of  Dumouriez's  defection  he  addressed  a 
proclamation  to  the  army  of  the  North  and  of  Ardennes,  urging  them 
to  remain  faithful  to  the  Convention,  for  which  he  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief. In  1793  he  had  his  leg  carried  away  by  a  cannon-ball 
while  attacking  the  woods  of  Ruismes  and  St.  Amand,  and  died  two 
days  afterwards.  Dampierre  was  patronized  by  the  Due  d'Orleans. 
His  air  was  gloomy,  and  his  make  heavy ;  but  he  united  to  an  ex- 
traordinary degree  of  vivacity  the  bravery  of  a  soldier." — Biographii 
Mm!,  rne. 


BI3. 

[Page  139.] 

This  Abb£  d'Espagnac. 

•  M.  I!.  Sahuguet,  Abb/'  d'Espagnac,  was  destined  for  the  Church,  and 
obtained  a  canonry  in  the  metropolitan  church  of  the  capital.  Ho  first 
drew  attention  by  his  literary  talents;  but  his  love  of  money  soon 
swallowed  up  every  other  consideration.  He  connected  himself  with 
Calonne,  became  his  agent,  and  engaged  iii  several  lucrative  speculations. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Jacobin  Club.  In  1791  he 
became  a  purveyor  to  the  army  of  the  Alps,  and  being  denounced  by 
Cambon  for  fraudulent  dealings,  was  ordered  to  he  arrested.  He 
contrived    t<>    clear   himself   from    this  accusation,  and  Speculated    in  the 

baggage  waggons  of  Dumouriez's  army.  Being  soon  afterwards  de- 
nounced as  an  accomplice  and  a  dishonest  purveyor,  he  was  arrested 
in  1793,  ;l11^  '"  ^he  following  year  sent  to  the  guillotine  by  the  re- 
volutionary tribunal.  At  the  time  of  his  death  d'Espagnac  was  Eorty- 
one  years  of  age."-  -Biogra/phU  Moderne. 


394  APPENDICES. 

CC. 

[Page  141.] 

Cambon. 

"  J.  Cambon,  a  merchant,  born  of  Protestant  parents,  eagerly  em- 
braced the  cause  of  the  Revolution.  In  the  Legislative  Assembly  he 
devoted  himself  chiefly  to  finance  ;  and  to  him  is  owing  the  formation 
of  the  Great  Book  of  the  public  debt.  In  1792  he  caused  assignats 
to  be  issued  for  thirty  millions,  and  proposed  that  the  statues  of  the 
tyrants  in  the  capital  should  be  converted  into  cannon.  Cambon  was 
the  last  president  of  the  Legislative  Assembly.  In  1792  his  influence 
obtained  the  famous  decree  which  set  bounds  to  the  power  of  generals 
in  a  hostile  country — a  measure  which  removed  Dumouriez's  mask.  In 
the  following  year  he  voted  for  the  immediate  death  of  the  King.  After 
the  fall  of  Robespierre,  Cambon  directed  the  finance,  but  was  outlawed 
soon  afterwards,  and  was  subsequently  restored  to  liberty.  He  then 
went  to  live  in  obscurity  at  Montpellier. — Biographie  Modeme. 


DD. 

[Page  146.] 

RONSIN. 

"  Ronsin  was  born  at  Soissons  in  1752.  He  figured  in  the  early  scenes 
of  the  Revolution,  and  in  1789  brought  out  a  tragedy  at  one  of  the  minor 
Paris  theatres,  which,  though  despicable  in  point  of  style,  had  a  consider- 
able run.  Being  denounced  by  Robespierre,  he  was  guillotined  in  1794. 
His  dramatic  pieces  were  collected  and  published  after  his  death." — ticott's 
Life  of  Napoleon. 


EE. 

[Page  146.] 
Camus. 

"A.  G.  Camus,  deputy  to  the  States-general,  and  to  the  National 
Convention,  was  counsel  for  the  clergy  at  Paris  at  the  period  of  the 
Revolution.  In  1792  he  was  deputed  to  go  into  Holland  to  inquire  into 
ohe  truth  of  the  complaints  brought  by  Dumouriez  against  the  war 
minister  and  the  commissioner's  of  the  treasury,  when  he  obtained  the 
adoption  of  plans  to  improve  the  commissariat  department.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  voted  for  the  King's  death.  Being  appointed  one  of  five 
commissioners  to  arrest  Dumouriez,  he  was  anticipated  by  that  general, 
who  delivered  up  him  and  his  colleagues  to  the  Austrians.  He  was,  how- 
ever, soon  afterwards  exchanged  for  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  Camus 
died  at  Paris  of  an  apoplectic  attack  in  1804." — Biographie  Modeme. 


APPENDICES.  395 

FF. 

[Page  146.] 

Lacroix. 

"Lacroix,  who  was  condemned  to  death  by  the  revolutionary  tribunal 

in  1794,  was  originally  a  country  lawyer:  in  two  or  three  months  he 
became  a  colonel  and  a  major-general,  acquired  wealth,  was  the  accom- 
plice of  Danton,  long  held  a  secret  correspondence  with  Dumourie/,, 
whom  he  pretended  to  denounce  ;  favoured  the  tribunes  and  the  tumults 
of  the  sections  ;  was  one  of  the  opposers  of  the  Convention  by  caressing 
the  anarchical  commune,  and  defending  it  with  his  stentorian  voice." — 
Mercu  r's  Nouveau  Paris. 

GG. 

[Page  152.] 

MONGE. 

"Gaspard  Monge  was  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  after- 
wards of  the  Fiench  Institute.  In  1793,  acting  as  war  minister  for 
Sri  van,  he  signed  the  order  for  the  execution  of  Louis.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  made  secretary  and  president  of  the  Jacobin  Club.  Having 
attached  himself  to  the  fortunes  of  Bonaparte,  he  was  appointed  in  1804 
to  the  situation  of  grand  officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  Monge  was 
the  author  of  several  scientific  works." — Biographii  Moderne. 


im. 

Page  163.] 
Antoine  St.  Just. 

"  St.  Just  was  austere'  in  manners,  like  Robespierre,  but  more  enthusi- 
astic; and  the  image  of  a  thousand  religious  or  political  fanatics,  who,  being 
of  a  gloomy  temperament,  and  full  of  visionary  aspirations,  think  that  good 
is  always  to  be  worked  out  of  evil,  and  are  ready  to  sacrifice  themselves 
and  the  whole  world  to  any  scheme  they  have  set  their  minds  upon.  St. 
•Inst  was  nicknamed  the  Apocalyptic." — Hazlittfs  Life  of  Napoleon. 

"St.  .Inst  exhibited  the  true  features  of  gloomy  fanaticism;  a  regular 
visage,  dark  and  lank  hair,  a  penetrating  and  severe  look,  a  melancholy 
expression  of  countenance,  re\  ived  the  image  of  those  desperate  Scottish 
enthusiasts  of  whom  modern  genius  has  drawn  so  graphic  a  picture. 
Simple  and  unostentatious  in  his  habits,  austere  in  private,  and  inde- 
fatigable in  public,  St.  Just  was  the  most  resolute,  because  the  most 
sincere,  of  the  Decemvirs.  Enthusiastic  in  his  passion  for  the  multi- 
tude', he  disdained  to  imitate   its  vices,  or  pander  to  its  desires.      Steeled 

against  every  sentiment  of  pity,  he  demanded  the  execution  of  victims 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  supply  of  armies."  -  AUson, 


396  APPENDICES. 

II. 

[Page  167.] 

Fauchet. 

"  Clement  Fauchet,  a  priest,  bom  at  Dome,  embraced  the  principles  of 
the  Revolution  with  eagerness,  and  distinguished  himself  at  the  taking  of 
the  Bastille,  where  he  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  assailants  with  a  sabre 
in  his  hand.  At  the  time  of  Louis's  trial  he  declared  that  he  had  indeed 
deserved  death,  but  that  nevertheless  he  ought  to  be  saved.  Fauchet 
was  condemned  to  death  as  a  Girondin,  in  his  forty-ninth  year."- 
B  iographie  Moderne. 


JJ. 

[Page  173.] 
The  Convention. 

Here  is  the  picture  of  the  two  sides  of  the  Convention,  drawn 
by  Garat,  the  acutest  observer  we  have  had  of  the  actors  in  the 
Revolution : — 

"  To  this  side  of  the  Convention  almost  all  the  men  of  whom  I  have 
been  just  speaking  belonged:  I  could  never  discover  in  them  any  other 
spirit  than  that  which  I  had  known  in  them.  There  I  saw  then  both 
that  republicanism  of  sentiment  which  does  not  consent  to  obey  any 
man,  unless  that  man  speaks  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  and  as  the  law 
itself,  and  that  much  more  rare  republicanism  of  thought,  which  has 
taken  to  pieces  and  put  together  again  all  the  springs  of  the  organization 
of  a  society  of  men,  alike  in  rights  as  in  nature ;  which  has  found  out 
by  what  happy  and  profound  contrivance  it  is  possible  to  associate  in 
a  great  republic  what  appears  inassociable — equality  and  submission  to 
the  magistrates,  the  agitation  fertile  in  minds  and  souls,  and  a  constant, 
immutable  order ;  a  government  whose  power  shall  always  be  absolute 
over  individuals  and  over  the  multitude,  and  always  submissive  to  the 
nation ;  an  executive  power  whose  show  and  forms  of  useful  splendour 
shall  always  awaken  ideas  of  the  splendour  of  the  republic,  and  newer 
ideas  of  the  greatness  of  a  person. 

"  On  this  same  side  I  beheld  seated  the  men  best  acquainted  with 
those  doctrines  of  political  economy  which  teach  how  to  open  and  to 
enlarge  all  the  channels  of  private  and  of  national  wealth  ;  how  to  com- 
bine the  public  revenue  with  the  precise  portions  due  to  it  from  the 
fortune  of  every  citizen  ;  how  to  create  new  sources  and  new  rivers  for 
private  fortunes  by  a  good  use  of  what  they  have  poured  into  the  coffers 
of  the  republic ;  how  to  protect  and  to  leave  unshackled  all  the  branches 
of  industry  without  favouring  any ;  how  to  regard  great  properties,  not 
as  those  sterile  lakes  which  absorb  and  retain  all  the  waters  poured  by 
the  mountains  into  their  bosom,  but  as  reservoirs  necessary  for  multi- 
plying and  cherishing  the  germs  of  universal  fecundity,  for  the  purpose 
of  diffusing  them  farther  and  farther  over  all  those  places  which  would 


APPENDICES.  397 

otherwise  be  left  dry  and  sterile — admirable  doctrines,  which  introduced 
liberty  into  the  arts  and  commerce  before  it  existed  in  governments, 
but  peculiarly  adapted  by  their  essence  to  the  essence  of  republics,  alone 
capable  of  giving  a  solid  foundation  to  equality,  not  in  a  general  frugality 
which  is  always  violated,  and  which  shackles  desires  much  less  than 
industry,  but  in  a  universal  opulence,  in  those  labours  whose  ingenious 
variety  and  continual  revival  can  alone  absorb,  happily  for  liberty,  that 
turbulent  activity  of  democracies,  which,  after  it  had  long  agitated,  at 
Length  swept  away  the  ancient  republics  amidst  the  storms  and  tempests 
in  which  their  atmosphere  was  constantly  enveloped. 

"  On  the  right  side  there  were  five  or  six  men  whose  genius  was 
capable  of  conceiving  those  grand  theories  of  social  and  of  economic 
order,  and  a  great  number  whose  understandings  could  comprehend  and 
diffuse  them.  On  that  side,  too,  were  ranged  a  certain  number  of  spirits, 
in  times  past  extremely  impetuous,  extremely  violent,  but  who,  having 
run  the  entire  round  of  their  demagogic  extravagances,  aspired  only  to 
disavow  and  to  combat  the  follies  which  they  had  propagated.  There 
also  sat,  as  the  pious  kneel  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  those  men  whom 
mild  passions,  a  decent  fortune,  and  an  education  which  had  not  been 
neglected,  disposed  to  honour  with  all  the  private  virtues  that  republic 
which  permitted  them  to  enjoy  their  repose,  their  easy  benevolence,  and 
their  happiness. 

"  On  turning  my  eyes  from  this  right  side  to  the  left,  on  casting  them 
upon  the  Mountain,  what  a  contrast  struck  me  !  There  1  saw  a  man 
agitating  himself  with  all  possible  emotions,  whose  face,  of  a  copper 
yellow  hue,  made  him  look  as  if  he  had  issued  from  the  bloodstained 
caves  of  cannibals,  or  from  the  scorching  threshold  of  hell ;  a  man  whom, 
by  his  convulsive,  abrupt,  and  unequal  gait,  you  recognized  as  one  of 
tin  ise  murderers  who  had  escaped  from  the  executioner,  but  not  from  the 
furies,  and  who  seem  desirous  of  annihilating  the  human  race,  to  spare 
themselves  the  dread  which  the  sight  of  every  man  excites  in  them. 
Under  despotism,  which  he  had  not  covered  with  blood  as  he  had 
liberty,  this  man  had  cherished  the  ambition  of  producing  a  revolution 
in  the  sciences;  and  he  had  attacked,  in  systems  more  daring  than 
ingenious,  the  greatest  discoveries  of  modern  times  and  of  the  human 
mind.  His  eyes,  roving  through  the  history  of  ages,  had  dwelt  upon 
the  lives  of  four  or  five  great  exterminators  who  converted  cities  into 
deserts,  for  the  purpose  of  re-peopling  those  deserts  with  a  race  formed 
in  their  own  image  or  in  that  of  tigers ;  this  was  all  that  he  had  retained 
of  the  annals  of  nations,  all  that  he  knew  and  that  he  cared  to  imitate. 
From  an  instinct  resembling  that  of  ravenous  beasts  rather  than  from 
any  deep  vein  of  perversity,  he  had  perceived  into  how  many  follies  and 
crimes  it  is  possible  to  lead  an  immense  people  whose  religious  and 
political  chains  have  just  been  broken.  This  is  the  idea  which  dictated 
all  his  writings,  all  his  words,  all  his  actions.  And  he  fell  but  by  the 
dagger  of  a  woman  !   and  more  than  fifteen  thousand  images  of  him  ui  re 

set  u]>  throughout  the  republic ! 

"Beside  him  were  seated  men  who  would  not  themselves  have  con- 
ceived such  atrocities,  but  who,  thrown  along  witli  him,  by  an  act  of 
extreme,  audacity,  into  events  whose  height  turned  them  dizzy,  and 
whose  dangers  made  them  shudder,  while  disavowing  the  maxims  <>f 
the  monster,  had  perhaps  already  followed  them,  and  were  not  sorry 
that   it   should   lie   feared   that  tiny  could   follow   them   still.     They 

abhorred    Marat,   but    they   did    not   abhor    making    use    of    him.      Tlie\ 
placed  him  in  their  midst,  they  put  him  in  their  van,  they  bore  him,  as 


398  APPENDICES. 

it  were,  upon  their  breast,  like  a  head  of  Medusa.  As  the  horror  of 
such  a  man  was  everywhere,  you  fancied  that  you  perceived  him  every- 
where ;  you  almost  imagined  that  he  was  the  whole  Mountain,  or  that 
the  whole  Mountain  was,  as  it  were,  he.  Among  the  leaders,  in  fact, 
there  were  several  who  found  no  other  fault  with  the  misdeeds  of  Marat 
but  that  they  were  too  undisguised. 

"  But  among  these  leaders — and  here  nothing  but  truth  makes  me 
differ  in  opinion  from  many  worthy  men — among  these  leaders  them- 
selves were  a  great  number  of  persons  who,  connected  with  others  by 
events  much  more  than  by  their  sentiments,  turned  their  eyes  and 
their  regrets  towards  wisdom  and  humanity ;  who  would  have  had  many 
virtues,  and  might  have  rendered  many  services  at  the  moment  when 
they  should  have  begun  to  be  thought  capable  of  them.  To  the  Moun- 
tain repaired,  as  to  military  posts,  those  who  had  much  passion  for 
liberty  and  little  theory;  those  who  deemed  equality  threatened  or 
even  violated  by  grandeur  of  ideas  and  elegance  of  language  ;  those  who, 
elected  in  hamlets  and  in  workshops,  could  not  recognize  a  republican 
in  any  other  costume  than  that  which  they  wore  themselves;  those 
wild,  entering  for  the  first  time  upon  the  career  of  the  Revolution,  had 
to  signalize  that  impetuosity  and  that  violence  in  which  the  glory  of 
almost  all  the  great  Revolutionists  began  ;  those  who,  still  young  and 
better  qualified  to  serve  the  republic  in  the  field  than  in  the  sanctuary 
of  the  laws,  having  seen  the  republic  start  into  existence  amid  the  crash 
of  thunder,  conceived  that  it  was  with  the  crash  of  thunder  that  it  ought 
to  maintain  itself  and  promulgate  its  decrees.  On  this  side  also  several 
of  those  deputies  sought  an  asylum  rather  than  a  seat,  who,  having  been 
brought  up  in  the  proscribed  castes  of  the  nobility  and  the  priesthood, 
though  always  pure,  were  always  liable  to  suspicions,  and  fled  to  the 
top  of  the  Mountain  from  the  charge  of  not  attaining  the  height  of 
principles.  Thither  repaired  to  feed" their  suspicions  and  to  live  among 
phantoms  those  austere  and  melancholy  characters  who,  having  too 
frequently  seen  falsehood  united  with  politeness,  believe  in  virtue  only 
when  it  is  gloomy,  and  in  liberty  when  it  is  wild.  There  ranged  them- 
selves some  of  those  minds  who  had  borrowed  from  the  exact  sciences 
stiffness  at  the  same  time  with  rectitude,  who,  proud  of  possessing 
knowledge  immediately  applicable  to  the  mechanical  arts,  were  glad  to 
separate  themselves  by  their  place  as  well  as  by  their  disdain  from 
those  scholars,  those  philosophers,  whose  acquirements  are  not  so 
promptly  beneficial  to  the  weaver  or  to  the  smith,  and  do  not  reach 
individuals  until  they  have  enlightened  society  in  general.  There, 
lastly,  those  liked  to  vote,  whatever  might  be  in  other  respects  their 
sentiments  and  their  talents,  who,  from  the  springs  of  their  character 
being  too  tightly  wound  up,  were  disposed  to  go  beyond  rather  than  to 
fall  short  of  the  limit  that  it  was  necessary  to  set  to  revolutionary 
energy  and  enthusiasm. 

"  Such  was  the  idea  which  I  formed  of  the  elements  of  the  two  sides  of 
the  National  Convention. 

"  To  judge  of  each  side  from  the  majority  of  its  elements,  both  ap- 
peared to  me  capable  of  rendering,  in  different  ways  and  degrees,  great 
services  to  the  republic  :  the  right  side  for  organizing  the  interior  with 
wisdom  and  grandeur  ;  the  left,  for  infusing  from  their  own  souls  into 
the  souls  of  all  Frenchmen  those  republican  and  popular  passions  so 
necessary  to  a  nation  assailed  on  all  sides  by  the  league  of  kings  and  the 
soldiery  of  Europe." 


APPENDICES.  399 

KK. 

[Page  174.] 
St.  Andre\ 

"  Jean  Bon  St.  Andre,  a  Protestant  minister,  and  deputy  to  the  Con- 
vention, declared  against  an  appeal  to  the  people  on  the  King's  trial, 
and  voted  for  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  during  the  reign  of  the  Mountain,  and  took  possession 
of  the  marine  department.  Being  despatched  on  a  mission  to  Brest, 
he  idled  the  prisons,  put  the  public  authorities  into  the  hands  of  the 
Jacobins,  admitted  all  the  galley-slaves  to  depose  against  the  soldiers 
and  the  citizens,  and  caused  the  erection  of  two  permanent  guillotines. 
He  also  converted  two  of  the  churches  into  temples  of  Reason.  He  was 
afterwards  present,-  in  the  French  fleet,  at  the  celebrated  battle  of  the 
1st  of  June,  in  which  Lord  Howe  was  victorious;  and  being  slightly 
wounded,  withdrew  into  a  frigate,  where  he  remained  in  the  hold  to  have 
his  wound  dressed.  In  the  time  of  the  consulate  St.  Andre  was  made 
prefect  of  the  department  of  Mont  Tonnerre." — Biographic  Moderne. 


LL. 

[Page  176.] 

Rewbel. 

"  Rewbel,  born  at  Colmar  in  1746,  chief  of  the  barristers  in  the 
supreme  council  of  Alsace,  was  long  the  agent  of  several  German  princes 
who  had  possessions  in  Alsace,  and  afterwards  undertook  different  causes 
against  them,  which  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  he  represented  as  a 
mark  of  patriotism.  In  1791  he  presided  in  the  National  Assembly, 
and  next  to  Robespierre,  was  the  member  who  most  plainly  showed  his 
desire  for  a  republic.  In  the  following  year  he  earnestly  pressed  the 
King's  trial,  and  demanded  that  the  Queen  should  be -included  in  the 
same  decree  of  accusation.  Rewbel  took  care  to  keep  in  the  background 
during  the  stormiest  period  of  Robespierre's  reign,  and  after  his  fall 
declared  loudly  against  the  Jacobins.  He  was  a  violent  man,  and  ter- 
minated his  legislative  career  at  the  overthrow  of  the  Directory,  under 
which  his  eldest  son  was  adjutant-general." — Biogruphie  Moderne. 


MM. 
Page  182.] 

T  ALLIEN. 

".lean  Lambert  Tallinn,  son  to  the  porter  of  a  nobleman,  became 
afterwards  an  attorney's  clerk,  and  lastly,  corrector  of  the  press  in  the 
Moniteur  office.     On  the  10th  of  August   1792  he  was  named  secretary- 


4oo  APPENDICES. 

general  for  the  commune,  and  from  that  time  began  to  play  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  the  Revolution.  Ho  warmly  urged  the  trial  of  Louis 
XVI.,  and  opposed  the  granting  him  counsel.  During  the  year  1793  he 
was  out  on  missions,  and  everywhere  conducted  himself  like  a  zealous 
partisan  of  revolutionary  measures.  Love,  however,  appeared  all  at  once 
to  change  his  character.  Madame  de  Fontenai,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Cabarrus,  had  come  to  Bordeaux  in  order  to  embark  for  Spain,  whither 
she  was  going  to  rejoin  her  husband  ;  she  was  imprisoned,  and  fearing 
to  increase  the  number  of  victims,  she,  in  order  to  save  her  life,  flattered 
the  violent  passion  with  which  she  had  inspired  Tallien,  who,  from  that 
time  entirely  given  up  to  luxury  and  pleasure,  not  only  ceased  to  per- 
secute, but  in  1794  dissolved  the  military  and  revolutionary  tribunals  in 
Bordeaux.  In  the  same  year  he  was  one  of  those  who  materially  assisted 
in  bringing  Robespierre  to  the  scaffold.  In  1806  Tallien  was  commis- 
sioner of  the  Board  of  Trade  at  Alicant." — Biographic  Moderne. 


NN. 

[Page  183.] 

Malesherbes. 

"  Christian  William  de  Lamoignon  de  Malesherbes,  an  eminent  French 
statesman,  was  the  son  of  the  chancellor  of  France,  and  was  born  at 
Paris  in  172 1.  In  the  year  1750  he  succeeded  his  father  as  president 
of  the  Court  of  Aids,  and  was  also  made  superintendent  of  the  press,  in 
both  which  offices  he  displayed  a  liberal  and  enlightened  policy.  On  the 
banishment  of  the  parliaments  and  the  suppression  of  the  Court  of  Aids, 
Malesherbes  was  exiled  to  his  country-seat.  In  1775  ne  was  appointed 
minister  of  State.  He  took  no  part  in  the  proceedings  which  led  to  the 
overthrow  of  the  monarchy  ;  but  on  the  decree  of  the  Convention  for 
the  King's  trial  he  emerged  from  his  retreat  to  become  the  voluntary 
advocate  of  his  sovereign.  Malesherbes  was  guillotined  in  1794,  and 
almost  his  whole  family  were  extirpated  by  their  merciless  persecutors." — 
Encyclopaedia  A  mericana. 


00. 

[Page  185.] 
Marat  and  Robespierre. 

Among  the  singular  opinions  expressed  concerning  Marat  and  Robe- 
spierre must  not  be  omitted  that  which  was  put  forth  by  the  society  of 
the  Jacobins,  at  their  sitting  of  Sunday,  December  23,  1792.  I  know 
•nothing  that  furnishes  a  better  picture  of  the  spirit  and  dispositions  of 
the  moment  than  the  discussion  which  took  place  relative  to  the  char- 
acter of  those  two  persons.     Here  follows  an  extract  from  it : — 

"Desfieux  read  the  correspondence.  A  letter  from  a  society,  whose 
name  has  escaped  us,  gave  rise  to  a  warm  discussion,  which  cannot  fail 
to  suggest  some  very  important  reflections.  This  society  informed  the 
mother  society  that  it  was  invariably  attached  to  the  principles  of  the 


APPENDICES.  401 

Jacobins ;  it  observed  that  it  had  not  suffered  itself  to  be  blinded  by  the 
calumnies  circulated  so  profusely  against  Marat  and  Robespierre,  and 
that  it  retained  all  its  esteem  and  all  its  veneration  for  those  two  incor- 
ruptible friends  of  the  people. 

"  This  letter  was  loudly  applauded  ;  but  it  was  followed  by  a  discussion 
which  Brissot  and  Gorsas,  who  are  most  assuredly  prophets,  had  predicted 
on  the  preceding  day. 

"  Robert.  '  It  is  very  astonishing  that  the  names  of  Marat  and  Robe- 
spierre are  always  coupled  together.  How  corrupt  the  public  mind  must 
be  in  the  departments,  since  no  difference  is  made  between  these  two 
defenders  of  the  people  !  Both  possess  virtues,  it  is  true.  Marat  is 
a  patriot ;  he  has  estimable  qualities,  I  admit ;  but  how  different  is 
he  from  Robespierre  !  The  latter  is  discreet,  moderate  in  his  means  ; 
whereas  Marat  is  exaggerated,  and  has  not  that  discretion  which  char- 
acterizes Robespierre.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  be  a  patriot ;  in  order  to 
serve  the  people  usefully,  it  is  necessary  to  be  reserved  in  the  means  of 
execution,  and  most  assuredly  Robespierre  surpasses  Marat  in  the  means 
of  execution. 

"  '  It  is  high  time,  citizens,  to  tear  off  the  veil  which  hides  the  truth 
from  the  eyes  of  the  departments.  It  is  high  time  that  they  should 
know  that  we  can  distinguish  between  Robespierre  and  Marat.  Let  us 
write  to  the  affiliated  societies  what  we  think  of  those  two  citizens  ;  for 
I  confess  I  am  a  stanch  partisan  of  Robespierre,  and  yet  I  am  not  a 
partisan  of  Marat.'     (Murmurs  in  the  tribunes  and  in  part  of  the  hall.) 

"Bourdon.  'We  ought  long  since  to  have  acquainted  the  affiliated 
societies  with  our  opinion  of  Marat.  How  could  they  ever  connect 
Marat  and  Robespierre  together  !  Robespierre  is  a  truly  virtuous  man, 
with  whom  we  have  no  fault  to  find  from  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolution.  Robespierre  is  moderate  in  his  means  ;  whereas  Marat  is  a 
violent  writer,  who  does  great  harm  to  the  Jacobins  (murmurs)  ;  and 
besides,  it  is  right  to  observe  that  Marat  does  us  great  injury  with  the 
National  Convention.  The  deputies  imagine  that  we  are  partisans  of 
Marat ;  we  are  called  Maratists.  If  we  show  that  we  duly  appreciate 
Marat,  then  you  will  see  the  deputies  draw  nearer  to  the  Mountain 
whore  we  sit,  you  will  see  them  come  into  the  bosom  of  this  society  ; 
you  will  see  the  affiliated  societies  that  have  gone  astray,  return  and 
rally  anew  around  the  cradle  of  liberty.  If  Marat  is  a  patriot,  he  must 
accede  to  the  motion  that  \  am  going  to  make.  Marat  ought  to  sacrifice 
himself  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  I  move  that  his  name  be  erased  from 
the  list  of  the  members  of  this  society.' 

"This  motion  excited  some  applause,  violent  murmurs  in  part  of  the 
hall,  and  vehement  agitation  in  the  tribunes. 

"  It  will  be  recollected  that  a  week  before  this  scene  of  a  new  kind, 
Marat  had  been  covered  with  applause  in  the  society;  the  population  of 
the  tribunes,  which  has  a  memory,  recollected  this  circumstance  perfectly 
well ;  it  could  not  conceive  that  so  speedy  a  change  had  been  wrought  in 
opinions  ;  and  as  the  moral  instinct  of  the  people  is  always  just,  it  was 
highly  indignant  at  the  motion  of  Bourdon  :  the  people  therefore  de- 
fended their  virtiiniis  frii.iuly  they  did  not  imagine  that  in  a  week  he 
could  have  forfeited  his  claim  to  the  regard  of  tho  society;  for  though 
it  may  be  said  that  ingratitude  is  a  virtue  of  republics,  it  will  be  very 
difficult  t<>  accustom  the  French  people  to  this  kind  of  virtue. 

"  The  coupling  of  the  names  of  Marat  and  Robespierre  was  not  revolt- 
ing to  the  people.  Their  ears  had  long  been  accustomed  to  their  being 
so  united  in  the  correspondence;  and  after  witnessing  the  indignation 

vol.  11.  54 


40  2  APPENDICES. 

of  the  society  on  several  occasions  when  the  clubs  of  the  other  depart- 
ments demanded  the  expulsion  of  Marat,  they  did  not  deem  it  right  on 
this  day  to  support  the  motion  of  Bourdon. 

"  A  citizen  of  an  affiliated  society  pointed  out  to  the  society  how 
dangerous  it  was,  in  fact,  to  join  together  the  names  of  Marat  and 
Robespierre.  '  In  the  departments,'  said  he,  '  a  great  difference  is  made 
between  Marat  and  Robespierre  ;  but  they  are  surprised  at  the  silence 
of  the  society  concerning  the  differences  which  exist  between  those  two 
patriots.  I  propose  to  the  society,  after  it  has  decided  the  fate  of  Marat, 
to  make  no  further  mention  of  affiliation — a  word  that  ought  never  to  be 
uttered  in  a  republic — but  to  employ  the  term  fraternization.'1 

"  Dufourny.  '  I  oppose  the  motion  for  expelling  Marat  from  the  society. 
{Vehement  applause.)  I  will  not  deny  the  difference  that  exists  between 
Marat  and  Robespierre.  These  two  writers,  who  may  resemble  one 
another  in  patriotism,  have  very  striking  differences.  They  have  both 
served  the  cause  of  the  people,  but  in  different  ways.  Robespierre  has 
defended  the  true  principles  with  method,  with  firmness,  and  with  all 
becoming  discretion  ;  Marat,  on  the  contrary,  has  frequently  passed  the 
bounds  of  sound  reason  and  prudence.  Still,  though  admitting  the 
difference  that  exists  between  Marat  and  Robespierre,  I  am  not  in 
favour  of  the  erasure:  it  is  possible  to  be  just  without  being  ungrateful 
to  Marat.  Marat  has  been  useful  to  us ;  he  has  served  the  Revolution 
with  courage.  {Vehement  applause  from  the  society  and  the  tribunes.)  There 
would  be  ingratitude  in  striking  him  out  of  the  list.  {Yes,  yes,  from  all 
quarters.)  Marat  has  been  a  necessary  man.  Revolutions  have  need  of 
strong  heads,  capable  of  uniting  States ;  and  Marat  is  one  of  those  rare 
men  who  are  necessary  for  the  overthrow  of  despotism.  {Applause.)  I 
conclude  with  proposing  that  the  motion  of  Bourdon  be  rejected,  and 
that  merely  a  letter  be  written  to  the  affiliated  societies  to  acquaint 
them  with  the  difference  that  we  make  between  Marat  and  Robespierre.'1 
{Applause.) 

"The  society  resolved  that  it  will  cease  to  use  the  term  affiliation, 
deeming  it  offensive  to  republican  equality,  and  substitute  -the  word 
fraternization  in  its  stead.  The  society  then  resolved  that  Marat  shall 
not  be  erased  from  the  list  of  its  members,  but  that  a  circular  shall  be 
sent  to  all  the  societies  having  the  right  of  fraternization,  in  which 
shall  be  detailed  the  resemblances  and  the  differences,  the  conformities 
and  the  difformities,  which  may  be  found  between  Marat  and  Robe- 
spierre, that  all  those  who  fraternize  with  the  Jacobins  may  be  able  to 
pronounce,  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  circumstances,  respecting 
those  two  defenders  of  the  people,  and  that  they  may  at  length  learn 
to  separate  two  names  which  they  invariably  but  erroneously  couple 
together." 


.  PP. 

[Page  189.] 

Deseze. 

"  Raymond  Deseze  was  of  an  ancient  family.  His  father  was  a  cele- 
brated parliamentary  advocate  at  Bordeaux,  in  which  town  Raymond 
was  born  in   1750.     He  displayed  uncommon   talents  in  the  legal  pro- 


APPENDICES.  403 

fession,  and  was  entrusted  with  the  defence  of  Louis  XVI.,  which 
was  considered  a  masterpiece.  He  survived  the  Reign  of  Terror,  and 
refused  all  office  under  Napoleon.  On  the  return  of  the  Bourbons  he 
was  appointed  first  president  of  the  Court  of  Cassation,  and  grand  trea- 
surer of  the  royal  order.  He  was  afterwards  made  a  peer  of  France. 
Deseze  died  at  Paris  in  1828." — Encyclopaedia  Americana. 


QQ. 

[Page  193.] 
Lanjuinais. 

"  J.  D.  Lanjuinais,  an  advocate  and  professor  of  civil  law,  was  one  of 
the  original  founders  of  the  Breton  Club,  which  afterwards  became  the 
Jacobin  Society.  In  1 792  he  was  deputed  to  the  Convention  ;  but  in 
proportion  to  the  increasing  horrors  of  the  Revolution,  he  became  more 
moderate  in  his  principles.  On  the  King's  trial  he  declared  that  his 
Majesty  was  guilty,  and  voted  for  his  imprisonment,  and  his  exile  when 
a  peace  should  take  place.  In  1 794  the  Convention  outlawed  him ;  but 
having  evaded  all  research,  he  solicited  to  be  reinstated  in  the  Legislative 
Body,  and  was  recalled  in  1795.  In  the  year  1800  Lanjuinais  became 
a  member  of  the  conservative  Senate,  and  showed  himself  on  several 
occasions  the  inflexible  defender  of  the  true  principles  of  morality  and 
j  ustice." — Biographie  Moderne. 


RE. 

I  Page  196.] 
Salles. 

"  J.  B.  Salles,  a  physician  at  Vezeliso,  was  a  man  of  an  enlightened 
mind  and  acute  penetration,  and  showed  himself  a  warm  partisan  of  the 
Revolution.  After  the  overthrow  of  monarchy  on  the  10th  of  August 
he  was  appointed  deputy  to  the  National  Convention,  and  became  one 
of  the  founders  of  tho  republic.  In  this  Assembly  he  voted  for  the  con- 
finement of  Louis  XVI.,  and  his  banishment  on  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
In  1793  no  boldly  denounced  Marat  as  exciting  the  people  to  murder 
and  pillage,  and  as  having  solicited  them,  especially  in  his  journal,  to 
hang  monopolizers  at  the  doors  of  their  magazines.  Being  outlawed  by 
the  Jacobin  faction,  Salles  wandered  for  a  long  time  from  asylum  to 
asylum,  and  from  cavern  to  cavern,  but  was  at  length  seized  at  the 
house  of  Guadet's  father,  tried  at  Bordeaux,  and  executed  in  1794. 
Salles  was  thirty-four  years  of  age."— Biographie  Moderne. 


404  APPENDICES. 

SS. 

[Page  197.] 
St.  Etienne. 

"  J.  P.  Rabaut  St.  Etienne,  a  lawyer,  a  man  of  letters,  and  a  minister 
of  the  reformed  religion,  was  an  ardent  convert  to  the  Revolution,  and 
a  sworn  enemy  to  the  Catholic  clergy.  He  was  one  of  those  whose  sec- 
tarian spirit  added  greatly  to  the  revolutionary  enthusiasm.  When, 
however,  he  had  only  monarchy  to  contend  against,  he  became  more 
moderate.  On  the  occasion  of  the  King's  trial  he  forcibly  combated 
the  opinion  of  those  who  desired  that  the  Convention  should  itself  try 
Louis.  At  the  time  of  the  nominal  appeal  concerning  the  punishment 
to  be  inflicted  on  the  King,  St.  Etienne  voted  for  his  confinement,  and 
his  banishment  in  the  event  of  a  peace,  as  well  as  for  the  appeal  to 
the  people  to  confirm  the  sentence.  In  1793  he  was  president  of  the 
National  Convention ;  but  opposing  the  Terrorist  party,  a  decree  of 
outlawry  was  passed  against  him,  and  he  was  executed  at  Paris,  having 
been  delivered  up  by  an  old  friend,  of  whom  he  went  to  beg  an  asylum. 
Rabaut  St.  Etienne  was  fifty  years  of  age,  and  a  native  of  Nimes.  He 
was  the  author  of  '  Letters  on  the  Primitive  History  of  Greece,'  and  of 
an  '  Historic  Summary  of  the  French  Revolution.'  He  also  assisted  in 
editing  the  Moniteur." — Biograpihie  Moderne. 


TT. 

[Page  207.] 
Mailhe. 

"  Jean  Mailhe  was  a  lawyer  and  attorney  syndic  of  Upper  Garonne, 
whence  he  was  deputed  to  the  Legislature.  At  the  time  of  the  King's 
trial  he  voted  for  death,  but  moved  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that 
execution  should  be  delayed.  Having  escaped  the  proscriptions  of  the 
Reign  of  Terror,  he  was  in  1800  appointed  by  the  consuls  secretary- 
general  to  the  prefecture  of  the  Upper  Pyrenees." — Biographie  Moderne. 


uu. 

[Page  211.] 

Merlin  of  Douai. 

"  Merlin  always  pursued  a  revolutionary  career,  and  never  departed 
from  his  principles,  never  accepted  a  commission  to  pillage  or  slay  in 
the  departments,  and,  devoted  to  the  fatigue  of  incessant  labour,  never 
manifested  undue  ambition.  He  wanted,  perhaps,  the  courage  and 
firmness  necessary  to  a  true  statesman ;  but  he  had  some  qualities  which 


APPENDICES.  405 

are  desirable  in  a  minister :  more  remarkable  for  address  than  vigour, 
he  succeeded  in  all  he  attempted,  by  patience,  attention,  and  that  per- 
severing spirit  which  is  not  character,  but  which  frequently  supplies  its 
place." — GaruoVs  Memoirs. 


vv. 

[Page  212.] 

The  Comte  de  Kersaint. 

"  Comte  de  A.  (}.  8.  Kersaint  was  a  captain  in  the  royal  navy,  and  at 
the  period  of  the  Revolution  attached  himself  to  the  Cirondins.  On  the 
King's  trial,  when  sentence  of  death  had  been  pronounced,  in  opposition 
to  his  vote  for  imprisonment  till  the  peace,  Kersaint  sent  in  his  resigna- 
tion as  member  of  the  Convention.  In  1793  he  was  guillotined  by  the 
Jacobin  faction.  He  was  born  in  Paris,  was  a  man  of  good  natural 
abilities  and  of  moderate  principles,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
lifty-two  years  old." — Biographie  Modeme. 


WW. 

[Page  214.] 
The  King's  Confessor. 

"  Henry  Essex  Edgeworth  de  Firmont,  father-confessor  of  Louis  XVI., 
was  born  in  Ireland  in  1745,  in  the  village  of  Edgeworthstown.  His 
father,  an  episcopalian  clergyman,  adopted  the  Catholic  faith  with  his 
family,  and  went  to  France.  His  piety  and  good  conduct  obtained  him 
the  confidence  of  the  Princosse  Elizabeth,  who  chose  him  for  her  confessor, 
and  made  him  known  to  Louis,  who,  after  his  condemnation,  sent  for 
him  to  attend  him  in  his  last  moments.  M.  Edgeworth  accompanied  the 
King  to  the  place  of  oxecution  ;  and  having  succeeded  in  escaping  from 
France,  arrived  in  England  in  1796.  Pitt  offered  him  a  pension,  which 
he  declined.  He  soon  after  followed  Louis  XVIII.  to  Blankenburg,  in 
Brunswick,  and  thence  to  Mittau.  M.  Edgeworth  died,  in  1807,  of  a 
contagious  fever,  caught  in  attending  to  some  sick  French  emigrants. 
The  Duchesse  d'Angouleme  waited  on  him  in  his  last  moments ;  the 
royal  family  followed  him  to  the  tomb;  and  Louis  XVIII.  wrote  his 
epitaph."     Encyclopaedia  Americnuu. 


XX. 

[  l'<itj,'  21  5.] 
The  Kino's  Last  Interview  with  his  Family. 

"At  eight  o'clock  the  King  came  out  of  his  closet,  and  desired  the 
municipal  officers  to  conduct  him  to  his  family.  They  replied,  tli.it 
could  nut  he,  hut  his  family  should  be  brought  down   if   he   desired 

it.     'lie  it  so,"  said  his   Majesty;   and  accordingly  at   half-past   eighl    th( 


4o6  APPENDICES. 

door  opened,  and  his  wife  and  children  made  their  appearance.  They 
all  threw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  the  King.  A  melancholy  silence 
prevailed  for  some  minutes,  only  broken  by  sighs  and  sobs.  The  Queen 
made  an  inclination  towards  his  Majesty's  chamber.  '  No,'  said  the  King, 
'  we  must  go  into  this  room ;  I  can  only  see  you  there.'  They  went  in, 
and  I  shut  the  glass  door.  The  King  sat  down ;  the  Queen  was  on  his 
left  hand  ;  Madame  Elizabeth  on  his  right ;  Madame  Royale  nearly  oppo- 
site ;  and  the  young  Prince  stood  between  his  legs.  All  were  leaning  on 
the  King,  and  often  pressed  him  to  their  arms.  This  scene  of  sorrow 
lasted  an  hour  and  three-quarters,  during  which  it  was  impossible  to  hear 
anything.  It  could,  however,  be  seen  that  after  every  sentence  uttered 
by  the  King  the  agitation  of  the  Queen  and  Princesses  increased,  lasted 
some  minutes,  and  then  the  King  began  to  speak  again.  It  was  plain 
from  their  gestures  that  they  received  from  himself  the  first  intelligence 
of  his  condemnation.  At  a  quarter-past  ten  the  King  rose  first  :  they 
all  followed.  I  opened  the  door.  The  Queen  held  the  King  by  his  right 
arm  ;  their  Majesties  gave  each  a  hand  to  the  Dauphin.  Madame  Royale, 
on  the  King's  left,  had  her  arms  round  his  body  ;  and  behind  her  Madame 
Elizabeth,  on  the  same  side,  had  taken  his  arm.  They  advanced  some 
steps  towards  the  entry  door,  breaking  out  into  the  most  agonizing 
lamentations.  '  I  assure  you,'  said  the  King,  '  that  I  will  see  you  again 
to-morrow  morning  at  eight  o'clock.'  '  You  promise,'  said  they  all  to- 
gether. '  Yes,  I  promise.'  Why  not  at  seven  o'clock  ?  '  asked  the  Queen. 
'Well,  yes,  at  seven,'  replied  the  King.  '  Farewell !  '  He  pronounced 
farewell  in  so  impressive  a  manner  that  their  sobs  were  renewed,  and 
Madame  Royale  fainted  at  the  feet  of  the  King,  round  whom  she  had 
clung.  His  Majesty,  willing  to  put  an  end  to  this  agonizing  scene,  once 
more  embraced  them  all  most  tenderly,  and  had  the  resolution  to  tear 
himself  from  their  arms.  '  Farewell !  farewell ! '  said  he,  and  went  into 
his  chamber.  The  Queen,  Princesses,  and  Dauphin  returned  to  their  own 
apartments ;  and  though  both  the  doors  were  shut,  their  screams  and 
lamentations  were  heard  for  some  time  on  the  stairs.  The  King  went 
back  to  his  confessor  in  the  turret  closet." — Glery. 


YY. 

[Page  216.] 

Lepelletier  St.  Fargeau. 

"L.  M.  de  Lepelletier  St.  Fargeau,  president  of  the  parliament  of 
Paris,  was  deputed  by  the  nobility  of  that  city  to  the  States-general. 
He  possessed  an  immense  fortune,  and  was  noted  before  the  Revolution 
for  very  loose  morals,  but  at  the  same  time  for  a  gentle  disposition. 
In  1790  he  declared  in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  honorary  titles,  and 
filled  the  president's  chair  of  the  Assembly.  In  1 792  he  was  appointed 
secretary  to  the  Convention,  and  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  trial 
voted  for  his  death.  He  was  assassinated  four  days  after  at  the  Palais 
Royal,  in  the  house  of  the  cook  Fevrier,  where  he  was  going  to  dine. 
He  immediately  expired,  having  barely  time  to  pronounce  these  words, 
'I  am  cold!'  Lepelletier  was  born  at  Paris  in  the  year  1760."- 
Iiioyrajihie  Moderne. 


APPENDICES.  407 

ZZ. 

[Page  216.] 

The  Morning  of  the  Execution. 

"On hearing  five  o'clock  strike,  I  began  to  light  the  lire.  The  noise 
I  made  awoke  the  King,  who,  drawing  his  curtains,  asked  if  it  had 
struck  five.  I  said  it  had  by  several  clocks,  but  not  yet  by  that  in  the 
apartment.  Having  finished  with  the  fire,  I  went  to  his  bedside.  '  I 
have  slept  soundly,'  said  his  Majesty,  '  and  I  stood  in  need  of  it ;  yester- 
day was  a  trying  day  to  me.  Where  is  M.  Edgeworth  ? '  I  answered, 
'On  my  bed.'  '  And  where  were  you  all  night  ?  '  '  On  this  chair.'  'lam 
sorry  for  it,'  said  the  King,  and  gave  me  his  hand,  at  the  same  time 
tenderly  pressing  mine.  I  then  dressed  his  Majesty,  who,  as  soon  as  he 
was  dressed,  bade  me  go  and  call  M.  Edgeworth,  whom  I  found  already 
risen,  and  he  immediately  attended  the  King  to  the  turret.  Meanwhile 
I  placed  a  chest  of  drawers  in  the  middle  of  the  chamber,  and  arranged 
it  in  the  form  of  an  altar  for  saying  mass.  The  necessary  articles  of 
dress  had  been  brought  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  priest's 
garments  I  carried  into  my  chamber,  and  when  everything  was  ready  I 
went  and  informed  his  Majesty.  He  had  a  book  in  his  hand,  which  ho 
opened,  and  finding  the  place  of  the  mass,  gave  it  me;  he  then  took 
another  boob  for  himself.  The  priest  meanwhile  was  dressing.  Before 
the  altar  I  had  placed  an  arm-chair  for  his  Majesty,  with  a  large  cushion 
on  tlie  ground:  the  cushion  he  desired  me  to  take  away,  and  went 
himself  to  his  closet  for  a  smaller  one,  made  of  hair,  which  he  commonly 
used  at  his  prayers.  When  the  priest  came  in,  the  municipal  officers 
retired  into  the  ante-chamber,  and  I  shut  one  fold  of  the  door.  The 
mass  began  at  six  o'clock.  There  was  profound  silence  during  the 
awful  ceremony.  The  King,  all  the  time  on  his  knees,  heard  mass  with 
tlie  most  devout  attention,  and  received  the  communion.  After  the 
service  he  withdrew  to  his  closet,  and  the  priest  went  into  my  chamber 
to  put  oil'  his  official  attire." — Glery. 


AAA. 

[Page  218.] 
LOUIS   CONDUCTED   To   THE    SCAFFOLD. 

■•  \11  the  troops  in  Paris  had  been  under  arms  from  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  beai  of  drums,  bhe  sound  of  trumpets,  the  clash  of  arms, 
the  trampling  of  horses,  the  removal  of  cannon  which  were  incessantly 
carried  from  one  place  to  another  all  resounded  in  the  tower.  At  half- 
past  eight  o'clock  the  noise  increased  ;  the  doors  were  thrown  open  with 
great  clatter;  and  Santerre,  accompanied  i>y  seven  or  eight  municipal 
officers,  entered  at  the  head  of  ten  soldiers,  and  dre'w  them  up  in  two 
lines.     At  this  movement  the  King  t-.uix-  out  of  his  closet,  and  said  to 


4o8  APPENDICES. 

Santerre,  '  You  are  come  for  me  ? '  '  Yes,'  was  the  answer.  '  Wait  a 
moment,1  said  his  Majesty,  and  went  into  his  closet,  whence  he  instantly 
returned,  followed  by  his  confessor.  I  was  standing  behind  the  King, 
near  the  fireplace.  He  turned  round  to  me,  and  I  offered  him  his 
great-coat.  '  I  shall  not  want  it,'  said  he  ;  '  give  me  only  my  hat.'  I 
presented  it  to  him,  and  his  hand  met  mine,  which  he  pressed  for  the 
last  time.  His  Majesty  then  looked  at  Santerre  and  said,  'Lead  on.' 
These  were  the  last  words  he  spoke  in  his  apartments." — Clery. 


BBB. 

[Page  218.] 

Thk  King's  Last  Moments. 

"  On  quitting  the  tower,  the  King  crossed  the  first  court,  formerly  the 
garden,  on  foot ;  he  turned  back  once  or  twice  towards  the  tower  as  if 
to  bid  adieu  to  all  most  dear  to  him  on  earth  ;  and  by  his  gestures  it 
was  plain  that  he  was  trying  to  collect  all  his  strength  and  firmness. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  second  court  a  carriage  waited  ;  two  gendarmes 
held  the  door :  at  the  King's  approach  one  of  these  men  entered  first, 
and  placed  himself  in  front  ;  his  Majesty  followed,  and  placed  me  by  his 
side,  at  the  back  of  the  carriage ;  the  other  gendarme  jumped  in  last, 
and  shut  the  door.  The  procession  lasted  almost  two  hours  ;  the  streets 
were  lined  with  citizens,  all  armed  ;  and  the  carriage  was  surrounded  by 
a  body  of  troops,  formed  of  the  most  desperate  people  of  Paris.  As 
soon  as  the  King  perceived  that  the  carriage  stopped,  he  turned  and 
whispered  to  me,  '  We  have  arrived,  if  I  mistake  not.'  My  silence  an^ 
swered  that  we  had.  On  quitting  the  vehicle,  three  guards  surrounded 
his  Majesty,  and  would  have  taken  off  his  clothes  ;  but  he  repulsed  them 
with  haughtiness  ;  he  undressed  himself,  untied  his  neckcloth,  opened 
his  shirt,  and  arranged  it  himself.  The  path  leading  to  the  scaffold  was 
extremely  rough  and  difficult  to  pass ;  the  King  was  obliged  to  lean  on 
my  arm,  and  from  the  slowness  with  which  he  proceeded  I  feared  for  a 
moment  that  his  courage  might  fail ;  but  what  was  my  astonishment, 
when,  arrived  at  the  last  step,  I  felt  that  he  suddenly  let  go  my  arm, 
and  I  saw  him  cross  with  a  firm  foot  the  breadth  of  the  whole  scaffold ; 
silence,  by  his  look  alone,  fifteen  or  twenty  drums  that  were  placed 
opposite  to  him  ;  and  heard  him  pronounce  distinctly  in  a  loud  voice 
these  memorable  words  :  '  I  die  innocent  of  all  the  crimes  laid  to  my 
charge ;  I  pardon  those  who  have  occasioned  my  death  ;  and  I  pray  to 
God  that  the  blood  you  are  now  going  to  shed  may  never  be  visited  on 
France.'  He  was  proceeding,  when  a  man  on  horseback,  in  the  national 
uniform,  waved  his  sword,  and  ordered  the  drums  to  beat.  Many  voices 
were  at  the  same  time  heard  encouraging  the  executioners,  who  im- 
mediately seized  the  King  with  violence,  and  dragged  him  under  the 
axe  of  the  guillotine,  which  with  one  stroke  severed  his  head  from  his 
body." — Abbe  Edgeworth. 


APPENDICES.  409 

CCC. 

[Page  218.] 
The  King's  Executioners. 

The  executioners  who  officiated  on  this  occasion  were  brothers,  named 
Samson,  of  one  of  whom  Mercier  thus  speaks  in  his  Nouveau  Tableau  de 
Paris :  "  What  a  man  is  that  Samson  !  Insensible  to  suffering,  he  has 
always  been  identified  with  the  axe  of  execution.  He  has  beheaded  the 
most  powerful  monarch  in  Europe,  his  Queen,  Couthon,  Brissot,  Robe- 
spierre— and  all  this  with  a  composed  countenance  !  He  cuts  oil'  the 
head  that  is  brought  to  him,  no  matter  whose.  What  does  he  say  ? 
What  does  he  think  ?  I  should  like  to  know  what  passes  in  his  head, 
and  whether  he  considers  his  terrible  functions  only  as  a  trade.  The 
more  I  meditate  on  this  man,  the  president  of  the  great  massacre  of  the 
human  species,  overthrowing  crowned  heads  like  that  of  the  purest  re- 
publican, without  moving  a  muscle,  the  more  my  ideas  are  confounded. 
How  did  he  sleep  after  receiving  the  last  words,  the  last  looks,  of  all 
those  severed  heads  ?  I  really  would  give  a  trifle  to  be  in  the  soul  of 
this  man  for  a  few  hours.  He  sleeps,  it  is  said,  and  very  likely  his  con- 
science may  be  at  perfect  rest.  The  guillotine  has  respected  him,  as 
making  one  body  with  itself.  He  is  sometimes  present  at  the  Vaudeville. 
He  laughs — looks  at  me — my  head  has  escaped  him — he  knows  nothing 
about  it  ;  and  as  that  is  very  indifferent  to  him,  I  never  grow  weary  of 
contemplating  in  him  the  indifference  with  which  he  has  sent  a  crowd  of 
men  to  the  other  world." 


1)1)1). 

[Page  219.] 
The  Grave  of  Louis  XVI. 

"  The  body  of  Louis  was  removed  immediately  after  the  execution 
into  the  ancient  cemetery  of  the  Madeleine.  Large  quantities  of  quick- 
lime were  thrown  into  the  grave,  which  occasioned  so  rapid  a  decom- 
position that  when  his  remains  were  sought  after  in  181 5  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  any  part  could  be  recovered.  Over  the  spot  where 
he  was  interred,  Napoleon  commenced  the  splendid  Temple  of  Glory 
after  the  battle  of  Jena;  and  the  superb  edifice  was  completed  by  the 
Bourbons,  and  now  forms  the  Church  of  the  Madeleine,  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  the  many  beautiful  structures  in  Paris.  Louis  was  executed  on 
tin-  same  ground  where  the  Queen,  the  Princesse  Elizabeth,  and  so  many 
other  noble  victims  of  the  Revolution  perished  ;  where  Robespierre  and 
Danton  afterwards  suffered;  and  where  the  Kmpeior  Alexander  and 
the  allied  sovereigns  took  their  station  when  their  victorious  troops 
int  eied  Paris  in  1814!  The  history  of  modern  Europe  has  not  a 
scene  fraught  with  equally  interesting  recollections  to  exhibit.  It  is 
now    marked    by    the    colossal    obelisk    of    blood-red    granite    which   was 

brought  from  Thebes,  in  Upper  Egypt,  in  1833,  by  the  French  govern- 
ment."    Alison. 


410  APPENDICES. 

EEE. 

[Page  222.] 
The  Empress  Catherine. 

"Catherine  the  Second,  Empress  of  Russia,  was  born  at  Stettin  in 
1729,  where  her  father,  Prince  of  Anhalt-Zerbst,  and  Prussian  field- 
marshal,  was  governor.  The  Empress  Elizabeth  chose  her  for  the  wife 
of  her  nephew,  Peter,  whom  she  appointed  her  successor.  The  marriage 
was  celebrated  in  1745.  It  was  not  a  happy  one;  but  Catherine  con- 
soled herself  by  a  variety  of  lovers.  Among  others,  a  young  Pole, 
Stanislaus  Poniatowski,  gained  her  affections,  and  by  her  influence 
was  appointed  by  the  King  of  Poland  his  ambassador  at  the  Court  of 
St.  Petersburg.  In  1761  the  Empress  Elizabeth  died,  and  Peter  III. 
ascended  the  throne.  He  now  became  more  than  ever  estranged  from 
his  wife  Catherine,  which  led  to  a  conspiracy  headed  by  Gregory  Orlotf, 
her  favourite  ;  and  the  result  of  which  was  the  death  of  Peter  in  prison. 
In  1774  the  Empress  concluded  an  advantageous  peace  with  the  Porte, 
by  which  she  secured  the  free  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea.  At  this 
time  Potemkin  was  Catherine's  chief  favourite,  who  in  1784  conquered 
the  Crimea,  and  extended  the  confines  of  Russia  to  the  Caucasus.  In 
1787  the  Empress's  memorable  triumphal  journey  to  Tauris  took  place, 
when  throughout  a  distance  of  nearly  a  thousand  leagues  nothing  but 
feasts  and  spectacles  of  various  kinds  was  to  be  seen.  Palaces  were 
raised  on  barren  heaths,  to  be  inhabited  only  for  a  day,  and  Catherine 
was  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  people,  who  were  sent  forward  during 
the  night  to  afford  her  the  same  spectacle  the  following  day.  When 
in  1 79 1  Poland  wished  to  change  its  constitution,  the  Empress  took 
part  with  the  opponents  of  the  plan,  garrisoned  the  country  with  her 
troops,  and  concluded  a  new  treaty  of  partition  with  the  Cabinet  of 
Berlin  in  1792.  About  this  time  Catherine  broke  oft*  all  connection 
with  the  French  republic,  assisted  the  emigrants,  and  entered  into  an 
alliance  with  England  against  France.  She  died  of  apoplexy  in  1796. 
With  all  the  weakness  of  her  sex,  and  with  a  love  of  pleasure  carried  to 
licentiousness,  she  combined  the  firmness  and  talent  becoming  a  power- 
ful sovereign.  She  favoured  distinguished  authors,  and  affected  great 
partiality  for  the  French  philosophers." — Encyclopaedia  Americana. 


FFF. 

[Page  223.] 

Burke. 

"  However  the  arguments  of  Burke  may  seem  to  have  been  justified 
by  posterior  events,  it  yet  remains  to  be  shown  that  the  war-cry  then 
raised  against  France  did  not  greatly  contribute  to  the  violence  which 
characterized  that  period.  It  is  possible  that,  had  he  merely  roused  the 
attention  of  the  governments  and  wealthy  classes  to  the  dangers  of  this 
new  political  creed,  he  might  have  proved  the  saviour  of  Europe  ;  but 
he  made  such  exaggerated  statements,  and  used  arguments  so  alarming 


APPENDICES.  411 

to  freedom,  that  on  many  points  he  was  not  only  plausibly  but  victo- 
riously refuted." — Dumont. 

"  There  was  something  exaggerated  at  all  times  in  the  character  as 
well  as  the  eloquence  of  Burke  ;  and  upon  reading  at  this  distance  of 
time  his  celebrated  composition,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  colours 
he  has  used  in  painting  the  extravagances  of  the  Revolution  ought  to 
have  been  softened,  by  considering  the  peculiar  state  of  a  country  which, 
long  labouring  under  despotism,  is  suddenly  restored  to  the  possession 
of  unembarrassed  licence.  On  the  other  hand,  no  political  prophet  ever 
viewed  futurity  with  a  surer  ken." — Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 

"Mr.  Burke,  by  his  tropes  and  figures,  so  dazzled  both  the  ignorant 
and  the  learned  that  they  could  not  distinguish  the  shades  between 
liberty  and  licentiousness,  between  anarchy  and  despotism.  He  gave 
a  romantic  and  novel  air  to  the  whole  question.  A  crazy,  obsolete 
government  was  metamorphosed  into  an  object  of  fancied  awe  and  vene- 
ration, like  a  mouldering  Gothic  ruin  which,  however  delightful  to  look 
at  or  read  of,  is  not  at  all  pleasant  to  live  under.  Mr.  Pitt  has  been 
hailed  by  his  flatterers  as  'the  pilot  that  weathered  the  storm  ; '  but  it 
was  Burke  who  at  this  giddy,  maddening  period  stood  at  the  prow  of 
the  vessel  of  the  State,  and  with  his  glittering  pointed  spear  hiirj>i><>inil 
the  Leviathan  of  the  French  Revolution." — Hazlitt. 

"On  the  second  reading  of  the  Alien  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
Mr.  Bui'ke,  in  mentioning  that  an  order  for  making  three  thousand 
daggers  had  arrived  some  time  before  at  Birmingham,  a  few  of  which 
had  been  actually  delivered,  drew  one  from  under  his  coat,  and  threw  it 
indignantly  on  the  floor:  '  This,'  said  he,  'is  what  you  are  to  gain  by  an 
alliance  with  France  !  Wherever  their  principles  are  introduced,  their 
practice  must  also  follow.'  The  speech  which  Mr.  Burke  made  on  this 
occasion  was  excellent  ;  but  the  action  which  accompanied  it  was  not  in 
such  good  taste." — Prior's  Life  of  Burke. 


GGG. 

1 1'iKje  224.] 
The  Prince  of  the  Peace. 

Don  Manuel  de  (Jodoy,  Duke  of  Alcudia,  Prince  of  the  Peace,  and 
favourite  of  King  Charles  of  Spain,  was  born  in  1764  at  Badajoz.  He 
was  distinguished  by  a  tall,  handsome  figure,  and  excelled  in  most  lighl 
accomplishments.  He  early  entered  the  body-guard  of  the  King,  and 
became  a  favourite  at  Court,  especially  with  the  Queen.  In  1792  he  was 
made  premier  in  the  place  of  Aranda,  and  in  1795,  as  a  reward  for  his 
pretended  services  in  making  peace  with  France,  he  was  created  Prince 
of  the  Peace,  a  grandee  of  the  first  class,  and  presented  with  an  estate 
thai  secured  him  an  income  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  lie  married,  in 
171,7,  Donna  Maria  Theresa  of  Bourbon,  a  daughter  of  the  Infant  Don 
Luis,  brother  of  King  Charles.  In  1798  he  resigned  his  post  as  premier, 
hut  was  in  the  same  year  appointed  general -in -chief  of  the  Spanish 
forces.  \  decree  in  iSoy  bestowed  on  him  the  title  of  Highness,  and 
unlimited  power  over  the  whole  monarchy.  In  the  meantime  the 
hatred  of  the  people  against  the  overbearing  favourite  was  excited  to  the 


4 1  2  APPENDICES. 

highest  degree ;  and  he  would  have  lost  his  life  if  the  Prince  of  Asturias 
had  not  exerted  himself  to  save  him,  at  the  instance  of  the  King  and 
Queen,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  tried.  The  occurrences  at 
Bayonne,  however,  intervened.  Napoleon,  who  wished  to  employ  the 
influence  of  the  Prince  of  the  Peace  with  King  Charles,  procured  his 
release  from  prison,  and  summoned  him  to  Bayonne,  where  he  became 
the  moving  spring  of  everything  done  by  the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain. 
Since  that  time  he  lived  in  France,  and  later,  in  Rome,  where  he  enjoyed 
the  friendship  of  the  King  and  Queen  till  the  death  of  both  in  1819, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Paris." — Encyclopedia  Americana. 

"  The  Prince  of  the  Peace  is  one  of  those  extraordinary  characters  who 
have  obtained  celebrity  without  any  just  grounds.  I  both  saw  and 
heard  a  great  deal  respecting  him  during  my  stay  in  Spain.  One  day 
on  entering  the  audience  chamber,  where  I  had  scarcely  room  to  move, 
as  the  King  and  Queen  were  both  standing  very  near  the  door,  I  beheld 
a  man  at  the  other  end  of  the  apartment  whose  attitude  and  bearing 
appeared  to  me  particularly  ill-suited  to  the  audience  chamber  of  royalty. 
He  appeared  to  be  thirty-four  or  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  his  counte- 
nance was  of  that  description  which  a  fine,  well-grown,  hearty  young 
man  usually  presents  ;  but  there  was  no  trace  of  dignity  in  his  appear- 
ance. He  was  covered  with  decorations  and  orders,  and  I  might  reason- 
ably suppose,  therefore,  that  he  was  an  important  personage.  And  I 
was  not  wrong  :  it  was  Godoy,  Prince  of  the  Peace  !  I  was  struck  with 
surprise  at  his  free  and  easy  maimer.  He  was  leaning,  or  rather  lying, 
on  a  console  at  the  further  end  of  the  apartment,  and  was  playing  with 
a  curtain  tassel  which  was  within  his  reach.  At  this  period  his  favour 
at  Court  was  immense,  and  beyond  all  example.  He  was  prime  minister, 
councillor  of  State,  commander  of  four  companies  of  life-guards,  and 
generalissimo  of  the  forces  by  sea  and  land,  a  rank  which  no  person 
in  Spain  had  ever  possessed  before  him,  and  which  was  created  ex- 
pressly to  give  him  precedence  over  the  captains-general." — Duchesse 
aVA  brantes. 

"  Manuel  Godoy,  originally  a  private  in  the  guards,  reigned  in  Spain 
under  the  name  of  the  imbecile  Charles  IV.  He  was  an  object  of  con- 
tempt and  execration  to  all  who  were  not  his  creatures.  What  other 
sentiments  indeed  could  have  been  inspired  by  a  man  who  owed  the 
favour  of  the  King  only  to  the  favours  of  the  Queen  ?  Godoy's  power 
was  absolute,  and  he  made  the  most  infamous  use  of  it." — Bourrienne. 


HHH. 

[Page  226.  j 
Thk  Marquis  de  Chauvemn. 

"  Francois  Marquis  de  Chauvelin,  descended  from  a  celebrated  French 
family,  was  born  in  1770,  and  eagerly  embraced  the  cause  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. In  1 79 1  he  became  first  aide-de-camp  of  General  Rochambeau,  and 
displayed  so  much  talent  that  in  the  following  year,  on  the  proposal  of 
Dumouriez,  he  was  appointed  ambassador  to  England,  who,  however, 
broke  off  all  diplomatic  intercourse  with  France  after  the  execution  of 
Louis  XVI.  During  the  Reign  of  Terror,  Chauvelin  was  thrown  into 
prison,   from   which   he  was    soon   afterwards  released,  and   under  the 


APPENDICES.  4  i  3 

Directory  devoted  himself  entirely  to  the  sciences.  Napoleon  appointed 
him  prefect  of  the  department  of  the  Lys,  and  subsequently  sent  him 
into  Catalonia  as  intendant-general.  After  the  Restoration  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  much  admired  as 
a  popular  orator." — Encyclopedia  Americana. 


III. 

[Page  226.] 

Maret. 

"Hugues  Bern  Maret,  born  at  Dijon  in  1758,  and  engaged  in  the 
French  diplomatic  corps,  was  in  the  year  1792  first  sent  by  the  French 
to  the  English  government,  in  order  to  prevent  it  from  joining  the 
coalition  ;  but  his  efforts  were  fruitless.  Shortly  after  he  was  appointed 
ambassador  to  Naples  ;  but  on  his  way  thither  he  was  seized  by  the 
Austrian  troops  and  imprisoned  at  Custrin.  He  obtained  his  release  in 
1795.  In  ^ne  year  1799  he  became  secretary  to  the  consular  council  of 
State,  and  in  1803  accompanied  the  First  Consul  to  Holland,  and  after- 
wards attended  him  in  his  various  journeys.  Napoleon  created  him  Due 
de  IJassano." — Biographie  Moderne. 


JJJ. 

[Page  235.] 

The  Comte  de  Valence. 

"  Cyrus  de  Timbrune,  Comte  de  Valence,  born  at  Toulouse,  a  colonel 
of  dragoons  in  the  service  of  France,  married  the  daughter  of  Madame 
de  Genlis,  devoted  himself  to  tin-  revolutionary  party,  and  in  1791 
became  a  general  officer.  In  the  Eollowing  year  he  was  employed  in 
Luckner's  army,  and  afterwards  served  under  Dumouriez;  on  whose 
defection  he  became  suspected,  and  was  outlawed  by  the  Convention. 
In  [799  he  returned  to  France,  was  called  to  tho  Senate  in  1805, 
and  appointed  commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honour." — Biographie 
Mml,  n><  . 


KKK. 

[Page  238.] 

(ioitSAS. 

"A.  J.  Gorsas,  born  at  Limoges  in  1751,  edited  a  journal  in  [789, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  promoters  of  the  Revolution.  In  1792  he  was 
appointed  deputy  to  the  Convention,  and  connected  himself  with  the 
Girondins,  in  whose  fate  he  was  involved,  being  condemned  to  death 

in    [793.      Gorsas  was  the  author  of  an   amusing  satirical   work  entitled 
'  The  Carrier  Ass.'"      Hingniji1  it   Mitl,  iin. 


4i4  APPENDICES. 

LLL. 

[Page  239.] 

Chaumette. 

"  P.  G.  Chaumette,  attorney  of  the  commune  of  Paris,  was  born  at 
Nevers  in  1763.  His  father  was  a  shoemaker.  After  having  been  a 
cabin-boy,  a  steersman,  a  transcriber,  and  an  attorney's  clerk  at  Paris, 
he  worked  under  the  journalist  Prudhomme,  who  describes  him  as  a 
very  ignorant  fellow.  He  soon  acquired  great  power  in  the  capital, 
and  in  1793  proposed  the  formation  of  a  revolutionary  tribunal  without 
appeal,  and  a  tax  on  the  rich.  At  the  same  time  he  contrived  the 
Festivals  of  Reason,  and  the  orgies  and  profanations  which  polluted 
all  the  churches  in  Paris,  and  even  proposed  that  a  moving  guillotine, 
mounted  on  four  wheels,  should  follow  the  revolutionary  army,  '  to  shed 
blood  in  profusion  !  '  Chaumette  also  proposed  the  cessation  of  public 
worship  and  the  equality  of  funerals,  and  procured  an  order  for  the 
demolition  of  all  monuments  of  religion  and  royalty.  He  was  executed, 
by  order  of  Robespierre,  in  1794,  twenty  days  after  Hebert,  to  whose 
party  he  had  attached  himself." — Biugraphie  Moclerne. 


MMM. 

[Page  243.] 
Hebert. 

"  J.  R.  Hebert,  born  at  Alencon,  was  naturally  of  an  active  disposition 
and  an  ardent  imagination,  but  wholly  without  information.  Before 
the  Revolution  he  lived  in  Paris  by  intrigue  and  imposture.  Being 
employed  at  the  theatre  of  the  Varietes  as  receiver  of  the  checks,  he 
was  dismissed  for  dishonesty,  and  retired  to  the  house  of  a  physician, 
whom  he  robbed.  In  1789  he  embraced  with  ardour  the  popular  party, 
and  soon  made  himself  known  by  a  journal  entitled  Father  Duchesne, 
which  had  the  greatest  success  among  the  people,  on  account  of  the 
violence  of  its  principles.  On  the  10th  of  August  Hebert  became  one 
of  the  members  of  the  insurrectional  municipality,  and  afterwards,  in 
September,  contributed  to  the  prison  massacres.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  preach  atheism  and  organize  the  Festivals  of  Reason.  His  popu- 
larity, however,  was  brief,  for  he  was  brought  to  the  scaffold,  together 
with  his  whole  faction,  by  Robespierre,  in  1794.  He  died  with  the 
greatest  marks  of  weakness,  and  fainted  several  times  on  his  road  to 
execution.  On  all  sides  he  heard,  '  Father  Duchesne  is  very  uneasy,  and 
will  be  very  angry  when  Samson  (the  executioner)  makes  him  tipsy.' 
A  young  man,  whose  entire  family  he  had  destroyed,  called  out  to  him, 
'  To-day  is  the  great  anger  of  Father  Duchesne ! '  On  the  occasion  of 
the  Queen's  trial  Hebert  cast  an  imputation  on  her  of  so  atrocious  and 
extravagant  a  nature,  that  even  Robespierre  was  disgusted  with  it,  and 


APPENDICES.  4  i  5 

exclaimed,  'Madman  !  was  it  not  enough  for  him  to  have  asserted  that 
she  was  a  Messalina,  without  also  making  an  Agrippina  of  her  ?  '  Hebert 
married  a  nun,  who  was  guillotined  with  Ohaumette  and  the  rest  of  the 
faction  of  the  commune." — Biographie  Moderne. 


NNN. 

Page  245.] 

V.\i..\ze\ 

"C.  E.  Dufriche  Valaze,  a  lawyer,  was  born  at  Alencon  in  175 1.  He 
first  followed  the  military  career,  and  then  went  to  the  bar.  At  the 
period  of  the  Revolution  he  embraced  the  cause  of  the  people,  and  early 
attached  himself  to  the  party  of  the  Gironde.  He  was  condemned  to 
death  in  1793,  but  stabbed  himself  as  soon  as  he  had  heard  his  sentence  ; 
his  body,  nevertheless,  was  carried  in  a  cart  to  the  foot  of  the  scaffold. 
At  his  death  Valaze  was  forty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  works." — Biographic  Moderne. 


0 


000. 

[Page  248.] 
The  Prince  op  Coburg. 

■■  Frederick  Josias,  Duko  of  Saxe-Coburg,  an  Austrian  field-marshal, 
was  born  in  1737.  In  1788  ho  took  Choczim,  and  in  connection  with  the 
Russian  general  Suwaroff  defeated  the  Turks  at  Focsani  in  1789,  and 
conquered  Bucharest.  In  1793110  commanded  against  the  French,  was 
notorious  at  Aldenhoven  and  Neerwinden,  and  took  Valenciennes,  and 
several  other  towns:  but  when  the  Duke  of  York  separated  himself  from 
the  Austrians  in  order  to  besiege  Dunkirk,  Coburg  was  beaten  at  Mau- 
beuge,  Clairfayt  at  Tournay,  and  the  English  at  Dunkirk.  The  Prince  in 
consequence  retreated  over  the  Rhine,  and  gave  up  his  command.  He 
died  in  his  native  city  in  1S15." — Enq/clopcedia  Americana. 


PPP. 

[Page  249.] 
The  Archduke  Charles. 

"Charles  Louis,  Archduke  of  Austria,  son  of  Leopold  II.,  and  brother 
of  the  late   Emperor   Francis,  was  born  in   1771.     He  commenced  his 

military   career    in     1793,   commanded    the    vanguard    of    the    Prince    of 

Coburg,and  distinguished  himself  by  bis  talent  and  bravery.     In  1796 
lie  was  made  field-marshal  of  the  German  empire,  and  took  the  chief 


4 1 6  APPENDICES. 

command  of  the  Austrian  army  on  the  Rhine.  He  fought  several 
successful  battles  against  the  French  generals  Moreau  and  Jourdan, 
and  forced  them  to  retreat  over  the  Rhine.  After  the  battle  of  Hohen- 
linden,  when  the  French  entered  Austria,  the  Archduke,  who  had  pre- 
viously retired  from  service  by  reason  of  ill  health,  was  again  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  troops,  but  was  compelled  at  length  to  make  peace 
at  Luneville.  In  1805  he  commanded  an  Austrian  army  in  Italy, 
against  Massena,  over  whom  he  gained  a  victory  at  Caldiero.  In  1809 
he  advanced  into  Bavaria,  where  he  was  opposed  by  the  whole  French 
army,  commanded  by  Napoleon ;  a  hard-fought  and  bloody  battle, 
which  lasted  five  days,  ensued,  and  the  Austrians  were  compelled  to 
retreat.  In  the  same  year  the  Archduke  gained  a  victory  at  Aspern, 
opposite  to  Vienna,  and  compelled  the  French  to  retreat  across  the 
Danube  with  great  loss.  At  the  memorable  battle  of  Wagram  he  was 
wounded,  and  compelled  to  give  way,  after  a  contest  of  two  days.  Soon 
after  this  the  Archduke  resigned  the  command  of  the  army.  In  1 8 1 5  he 
married  the  Princess  Henrietta  of  Nassau- Weilburg.  He  is  the  author 
of  two  able  works  on  military  matters." — Encyclopaedia  Americana. 


QQQ. 

[Page  254.] 
Cambac^r^s. 

"  Jean  Jacques  Regis  Cambaceres,  descendant  of  an  ancient  family  of 
lawyers,  was  born  at  Montpellier  in  1753.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolution  he  received  several  public  offices,  and  in  1792  became  a 
member  of  the  Convention.  In  1793  he  declared  Louis  XVI.  guilty,  but 
disputed  the  right  of  the  Convention  to  judge  him,  and  voted  for  his 
provisory  arrest,  and  in  case  of  a  hostile  invasion,  for  his  death.  As  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  public  safety,  Cambaceres  reported  the 
treason  of  Dumouriez.  After  the  fall  of  the  Terrorists  he  entered  into 
the  council  of  Five  Hundred,  where  he  presented  a  new  plan  for  a  civil 
code,  which  became  subsequently  the  foundation  of  the  Code  Napoleon. 
On  the  1 8th  Brumaire  he  was  chosen  second  consul,  and  after  Bonaparte 
had  ascended  the  throne,  was  appointed  arch-chancellor  of  the  empire. 
In  1808  he  was  created  Duke  of  Parma.  On  the  approach  of  the 
Allies  in  18 14  he  followed  the  government,  whence  he  sent  his  consent 
to  the  Emperor's  abdication.  On  the  return  of  Napoleon  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  made  president  of  the  House  of  Peers,  and  on  the 
Emperor's  second  downfall  was  banished,  and  went  to  live  at  Brussels. 
In  1 81 8  the  King  permitted  him  to  return  to  Paris,  where  he  lived 
afterwards  as  a  private  individual,  and  died  in  1824." — Encxjclofrndia 
Americana. 

"  The  Consul  Cambaceres  received  company  every  Tuesday  and 
Saturday,  and  no  other  house  in  Paris  could  stand  a  comparison  with 
his  hotel.  He  was  a  consummate  epicure,  had  great  conversational 
powers,  and  the  incidents  of  his  narratives  acquired  novelty  and  grace 
from  the  turn  of  his  language.  I  may  be  allowed  to  call  him  an  honest 
man,  for,  looking  round  on  all  his  equals  in  power,  I  have  never  found 
one  of  such  absolute  good  faith   and  probity.     His  figure  was  extra- 


APPENDICES.  4 » 7 

ordinarily  ugly  as  well  as  unique.  The  slow  and  regular  step,  the 
measured  cadence  of  accentuation,  the  very  look,  which  was  three  times 
as  long  as  another's  to  arrive  at  its  object — all  was  in  admirable  keeping 
with  the  long  person,  long  nose,  long  chin,  and  the  yellow  skin,  which 
betrayed  not  the  smallest  symptoms  that  any  matter  inclining  to 
sanguine  circulated  beneath  its  cellular  texture.  The  same  consistency 
pervaded  his  dress  ;  and  when  demurely  promenading  the  galleries  of 
the  Palais  Royal,  then  the  Palais  Egalite,  the  singular  cut  and  colour 
of  his  embroidered  coat,  his  ruffles,  at  that  time  so  uncommon,  his 
short  breeches,  silk  stockings,  shoes  polished  with  English  blacking, 
and  fastened  with  gold  buckles,  his  old-fashioned  wig  and  queue,  and 
his  well-appointed  and  well-placed  three-cornered  hat — produced  alto- 
gether a  most  fantastic  effect.  The  members  of  his  household,  by  their 
peculiarities  of  dress,  served  as  accessories  to  the  picture.  Cambaceres 
went  every  evening  to  the  theatre,  and  afterwards  seldom  failed  to 
make  his  appearance  with  his  snite,  all  in  full  costume,  either  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Tuileries  or  of  the  Palais  Egalite,  where  everything 
around  exhibited  the  most  ludicrous  contrast  to  this  strange  group." — 
Darin ssi  il'Ahiiintes. 

"Cambaceres,  who  was  an  inveterate  epicure,  did  not  believe  it  pos- 
sible that  a  good  government  could  exist  without  good  dinners;  and 
his  glory  (for  every  man  has  his  own  particular  hobby)  was  to  know 
that  the  luxuries  of  his  table  were  the  subject  of  eulogy  throughout 
Paris,  and  even  Europe.  A  banquet  which  commanded  general  suffrage 
was  to  him  a  Marengo."' — Bou/rrienne. 


RRR. 

[Page  256.] 

Feraud. 

"Feraud,  deputy  to  the  Convention,  voted  for  the  death  of  Louis 
XVI.;  and  when  the  commune  of  Paris  desired  that  the  Girondins 
should  lie  tried,  he  proposed  to  declare  that  they  had  not  forfeited  the 
eoniidence  of  the  Assembly.  These  sentiments  would  have  involved 
him  in  their  ruin,  had  he  not  been  saved  by  a  mission  to  the  army  of 
the  Western  Pyrenees,  where  he  received  a  wound  in  charging  at  the 
luad  of  the  columns.  Being  returned  again  to  the  Convention,  he 
became  a  partisan  of  Barras,  and  assisted  him  in  turning  the  armed 
force  against  Robespierre  and  his  faction.  When  the  revolt  happened 
in  1795,  he  showed  more  courage  than  any  of  the  other  deputies  in 
opposing  the  Terrorists  at  the  moment  when  they  forced  the  en  trance 
of  the  hall;  but  he  became  the  victim  of  his  valour,  for,  after  having 
been  abused  by  the  crowd,  he  received  a  pistol-shot  in  his  breast,  at 
the  time  when  he  was  endeavouring  to  repulse  several  men  who  were 
making  towards  the  president.  His  body  was  immediately  seized  and 
dragged  into  an  adjoining  passage,  where  his  head  was  cut  oil',  fixed  on 
the  to]>  of  a  pike,  and  brought  into  the  hall  to  the  president,  Boissy 
d'Anglas,  to  terrify  him  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  representatives. 
Feraud  was  born  in  the  valley  of  the  Paure  at  the  foot  of  the 
I'vivnres. "—A'/*"/,',*.  ///,    M,til,  nit. 

Vol..  II.  •'•' 


4  i  8  APPENDICES. 

sss. 

[Page  257.] 
Dubois  de  Cranck 

"  E.  L.  A.  Dubois  de  Crance  joined  the  King's  musqueteers,  and  be- 
came lieutenant  of  the  marshals  of  France.  In  1792  he  was  chosen 
deputy  to  the  Convention,  and  on  the  King's  trial,  opposed  the  appeal 
to  the  people,  and  voted  for  his  death.  In  the  following  year  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  Convention,  and  member  of  the  committee  of 
public  safety.  He  contributed  to  the  fall  of  the  Girondins,  and  after- 
wards to  that  of  Robespierre  and  the  Terrorists.  In  1799  the  Directory 
raised  him  to  the  administration  of  the  war  department,  in  the  place  of 
Bernadotte.  Dubois  de  Crance  died  in  1 805,  at  an  estate  to  which  he 
had  retired." — JJiugrapItie  Moderne. 


TTT. 

[Page  258.] 

Jean  Baptiste  Louvet. 

The  following  spirited  sketch  of  this  distinguished  Girondin  is  from 
the  pen  of  one  who  knew  him  well : — "  Louvet  is  ill-looking,  little, 
weakly,  short-sighted,  and  slovenly.  He  seems  a  mere  nobody  to  the 
generality,  who  do  not  observe  the  dignity  of  his  brow,  and  the  tire 
which  animates  his  eyes  at  the  expression  of  any  great  truth.  Men 
of  letters  are  acquainted  with  his  pretty  novels ;  but  politics,  owe  more 
important  obligations  to  him.  It  is  impossible  to  have  more  wit,  less 
affectation,  and  more  simplicity  than  Louvet.  Courageous  as  a  lion, 
simple  as  a  child,  a  feeling  man,  a  good  citizen,  a  vigorous  writer,  he 
in  the  tribune  can  make  Catiline  tremble  ;  he  can  dine  with  the  Graces, 
and  sup  with  Bachaumont." — Madame  Roland. 


uuu. 

[Page  269.] 
Colonel  Mack. 

"  Charles,  Baron  von  Mack,  an  Austrian  general,  was  born  in  Fran- 
conia  in  1752.  On  leaving  college  his  inclination  led  him  to  enlist  as 
a  private  in  a  regiment  of  dragoons ;  and  in  the  war  with  Turkey  he 
obtained  a  captain's  commission.  On  the  occurrence  of  war  with  France, 
Mack  was  appointed  quartermaster-general  of  the  army  of  Prince 
Coburg,  and  directed  the  operations  of  the  campaign  of  1793.  In  1797 
he  succeeded  the  Archduke  Charles  in  the  command  of  the  army  of  the 


APPENDICES.  4 1 9 

Rhine.  In  1804  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  in  the  Tyrol, 
Dalmatia,  and  Italy.  In  the  following  year  Napoleon  forced  him  to 
retreat  beyond  the  Danube,  and  to  submit  to  the  famous  capitulation 
of    Ulm.     Mack   died   in    obscurity   in    the   year    1828." — Encyclopcedia 

Americana. 


vvv. 

[Page  275.] 
Sketch  of  Robespierkk. 

Here  is  the  most  accurate  picture  ever  drawn  of  Robespierre  and  of 
the  suspicions  by  which  he  was  haunted.     It  is  a  conversation. 

"  No  sooner  was  Robespierre  aware  that  I  was  going  to  speak  to  him 
about  the  quarrels  of  the  Convention  than  he  said,  '  All  those  deputies 
of  the  Gironde,  those  Brissots,  those  Louvets,  those  Barbaroux,  are 
counter-revolutionists,  conspirators.'  I  could  not  refrain  from  laughing, 
and  the  laugh  which  escaped  me  soured  him  immediately.  'You  were 
always  like  that.  In  the  Constituent  Assembly  you  were  disposed  to 
believe  that  the  aristocrats  were  fond  of  the  Revolution.'  'I  was  not 
precisely  like  that.  The  utmost  that  I  could  believe  was  that  some  of 
the  nobles  were  not  aristocrats.  I  thought  so  of  several,  and  you  still 
think  so  yourself  of  some  of  them.  I  was  also  ready  to  believe  that  we 
should  have  made  some  conversions  among  the  aristocrats  themselves  if, 
out  of  the  two  means  which  were  at  our  disposal,  reason  and  force,  we 
had  more  frequently  employed  reason,  which  was  on  our  side  only,  and 
less  frequently  force,  which  may  be  on  the  side  of  tyrants.  Take  my 
advice:  forget  these  dangers  which  we  have  surmounted,  and  which 
have  nothing  to  do  with  those  that  threaten  us  at  this  moment.  War 
was  then  waging  between  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of  liberty ;  it  is 
now  waging  between  the  lukewarm  and  the  earnest  friends  of  the 
republic,  if  an  opportunity  were  to  present  itself,  I  would  say  to 
Louvet  that  he  is  egregiously  mistaken  to  believe  you  to  be  a  royalist ; 
but  to  you  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  say  that  Louvet  is  no  more  a  royalist 
than  yourself.  You  resemble  in  your  quarrels  the  Molinists  and  the 
Jansenists  whose  whole  dispute  turned  on  the  manner  in  which  divine 
grace  operates  upon  the  soul,  and  who  mutually  accused  each  other  of 
not  believing  in  God.'  'If  they  are  not  royalists,  why  did  they  labour 
so  hard  to  save  the  King's  lifer  I  would  wager  that  you  were  yourself 
for  mercy,  for  clemency.  .  .  .  But  what  signifies  it  what  principle  ren- 
dered the  King's  death  just  and  necessary,  your  Brissot,  your  Girondins, 
and  your  appealers  to  the  people  were  against  it  r1  Did  they  then  wish 
to  leave  to  tyranny  all  the  means  of  raising  itself  again  'i  '  'I  know  not 
whether  the  intention  of  the  appealers  to  the  peojil-  was  to  spare  Capet 
the  punishment  of  death;  the  appeal  to  the  people  always  appeared  to 
me  imprudent  and  dangerous;  but  I  can  easily  conceive  how  those  who 
voted  t'li-  it  might  have  believed  that  the  life  of  Capet  as  a  prisoner 
might  be,  in  the  course  of  events,  more  useful  than  his  death:  I  can 
Conceive  how  they  might  have  thought  that  the  appeal  to  the  people 
was  a  grand  means  of  honouring  a  republican  nation  in  the  eyes  of  the 
whole  world,  by  giving  it  occasion  to  exercise  itself  a  signal  act  of 
generosity  by  an  act  of  sovereignty.'    '  It  is  certainly  attributing  tine 


420  APPENDICES. 

intentions  to  measures  which  you  do  not  approve,  and  to  men  who  are 
conspiring  on  all  sides.'     '  But  where  are   they  conspiring  ?  '     '  Every- 
where :  in  Paris,  all  over  France,  all  over  Europe.     In  Paris,  Gensonne 
is  conspiring  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  by  going  from  shop  to  shop 
and  persuading  the  shopkeepers  that  we  patriots  want  to  plunder  their 
houses.     The  Gironde  long  since   formed   a  plan   for  separating  itself 
from  France,  and  uniting  itself  with  England ;  and  the  leaders  of  its 
deputation  are  themselves  the  authors  of   this   plan,  which  they  are 
determined  to  execute  at  any  rate.     Gensonne  does  not  conceal  this ; 
he  tells  everybody  who  chooses  to  listen  to  him,  that  they  are  not  here 
the   representatives   of   the   nation,   but   the    plenipotentiaries   of    the 
Gironde.     Brissot  conspires  in  his  journal,  which  is  a  tocsin  of  civil 
war ;  it  is  well  known  that  he  is  gone  to  England,  and  it  is  equally 
well  known  why  he  is  gone ;  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  with  Lebrun,  who  is  from 
Liege,  and  a  creature  of  the  house  of  Austria ;  the  best  friend  of  Brissot 
is  Clavieres,  and  Clavieres   has   conspired  wherever   he  has  breathed; 
Rabaud,  traitor,  like  a  Protestant  and  a  philosopher  as  he  is,  has  not 
been  cunning  enough  to  conceal  from  us  his  correspondence  with  the 
courtier  and  traitor  Montesquiou :  they  have  been  labouring  for  these 
six  months  together  to  open  Savoy  and  France  to  the  Piedmontese  ; 
Servan  has  been  appointed  general  of  the  army  of  the  Pyrenees  merely 
to  give  up  the  keys  of  France  to  the  Spaniards ;  lastly,  there  is  Du- 
mouriez,  who  no  longer  threatens  Holland,  but  Paris ;  and  when  that 
charlatan  of  heroism  was  here,  when  I  was  anxious  to  have  him  arrested, 
it  was  not  with  the  Mountain  that  he  dined  every  day,  but  with  the 
ministers    and    the    Girondins.'     '  Three    or   four    times   with   me   for 
example.'     'I  am  quite  tired  of  the  Revolution;    I   am   ill.     Never   was 
the  country  in  greater  dangers,  and  I  doubt  whether  it  will  extricate 
itself  from  them.     Well,  are  you  still  in  the  humour  to  laugh,  and  to 
believe  that  these  are  very  upright  men,  very  good  republicans  ?  '     '  No, 
I  am  not  tempted  to  laugh ;  but  I  can  hardly  repress  the  tears  which 
must  be  shed  for  the  country,  when  one  sees  its  legislators  -a  prey  to 
such  frightful  suspicions  on  such  paltry  grounds.     I  am  sure  that  there 
is  nothing  real  in  all  your  suspicions  ;    but  I  am  sure,  too,  that  your 
suspicions  are  a  very  real  and  a  very  great  danger.     Almost  all  these 
men  are  your  enemies ;  but  none  of  them,  excepting  Dumouriez,  is  an 
enemy  to  the  republic  ;  and  if  you  could  on  all  sides  divest  yourselves 
of  your  animosities,  the  republic  would  no  longer  be  in  any  danger.' 
'  Are  you  not  going  to  propose   to  me  to  remodel  Bishop  Lamouret's 
motion  P  '     '  No ;    I   have   profited   sufficiently  by  the  lessons  at  least 
which  you  have  given  me ;   and  the   three   National   Assemblies   have 
taken  the  trouble  to  teach  me  that  the  best  patriots  hate  their  enemies 
much  more  than  they  love  their  country.     But  I  have  one  question  to 
ask  ;   and  I  beg  you  to  reflect  before  you  answer  me :    Have  you  any 
doubt  about  all  that  you  have  just  been  saying  ?  '     '  None.'     I  left  him, 
and  withdrew  in  long  amazement,  and  in  great  fear  on  account  of  what 
I  had  just  heard. 

"  A  few  days  afterwards  I  was  leaving  the  executive  council ;  I  met 
Salles  coming  out  of  the  National  Convention.  Circumstances  became 
more  alarming.  All  who  had  any  esteem  for  one  another  could  not 
meet  without  feeling  irresistibly  impelled  to  talk  about  public  affairs. 

" '  Well,'  said  I  to  Salles,  on  meeting  him,  '  is  there  no  way  of  putting 
an  end  to  these  horrible  quarrels  ?  '  '  Why,  yes,  I  hope  so  ;  I  hope  that 
I  shall  soon  tear  off"  all  the  veils  that  still  cover  those  atrocious  villains 


APPENDICES.  421 

and   their   atrocious   conspiracies.     But  as  for  you,   I    know  that  you 
always  had  a  blind  confidence;    I   know  that   it  is  your  mania  not  to 
believe  anything.'    'You  are  wrong:    I  believe,  like  other  people,  but 
on  presumptions,  not  on  suspicions,  on  attested  facts,  not  on  imaginary 
ones.     Why  do  you  suppose  me,   then,  to    be  so  incredulous  ?     Is   it 
because  I  would   not  believe  you  in    1789   when  you  assured  me  that 
Necker  was  plundering  the  exchequer,  and  that  people  had  seen  mules 
laden   with   gold  and   silver  which   he  was  sending  oil'  by  millions   to 
Geneva.     This  credulity,  I  confess,  has  been  quite  incorrigible  in  me  ; 
for  to  this  very  day  I  am  persuaded  that  Necker  left  here  more  millions 
of  his  own  than  he  carried  away  of  ours  to   Geneva.'     '  Necker  was  a 
knave;  but  he  was  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  villains  by  whom 
we  are  now  surrounded ;  and  it  is  about  these  that  I  want  to  talk  to  you 
if  you  will  hear  me.     1  will  tell  you  everything,  for  I  know  it  all.     1 
have    unravelled  all  their  plots.     All  the  plots,  all  the  crimes  of   the 
Mountain  began  with  the  Revolution  :  Orleans  is  the  chief  of  that  band 
of    brigands;    and   it   is   the   author   of   that   infernal    novel   Liaisons 
Dangereuses,  who  drew  up  the   plan  of  all   the   atrocities   which  they 
have  been  committing  for  these  five  years.     The  traitor  Lafayette  was 
their  accomplice,  and  it  was  he  who,  making  believe  to  thwart  the  plot 
in  its  very  outset,  sent   Orleans  to  England  to  arrange  everything  witli 
Pitt,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Cabinet  of  St.  James's.     Mirabeau 
was  also  in   that   affair.     He   received  money  from  the  King  to  cloak 
his  connection  with  Orleans ;  but  he  received  still  more  from  Orleans  to 
be  serviceable  to  him.     The  grand  business  for  the  Orleans  party  was 
to   induce   the   Jacobins   to   enter   into  its   designs.     They   durst    not 
attempt  this  in  a  direct  manner;  it  was  therefore  to  the  Cordeliers  that 
they  first  applied.    In  the  Cordeliers  all  were  instantly  bought  up,  and 
became  their  devoted  tools.     Bear  in   mind  that  the   Cordeliers  have 
always  been  less  numerous  than  the  Jacobins,  and   have  always   made 
less  noiso  ;  that  is,  because  they  wish  everybody  to  be  their  instrument, 
but  they  do  not  wish  everybody  to  be  in  their  secret.     The  Cordeliers 
have  always  been  the  hotbed  of  conspirators:  it  is  there  that  Danton, 
the  most  dangerous  of  all,  forms  and  trains  them  to  audacity  and  lying, 
brings  them  up  to  murder  and  massacres;  it  is  there  that  they  practise 
the  part   which  they  are  afterwards  to  act  at  the  Jacobins;  and  the 
Jacobins,  who  assume  the  air  of  leading   France,  are  themselves  led, 
without  being  awaro  of  it,  by  the  Cordeliers.     The  Cordeliers,  who  seem 
to  be  concealed  in  a  hole  in  Paris,  are  negotiating  with  Europe,  and  have 
envoys  in  all  the  Courts,  who  have  sworn  the  ruin  of  our  liberty.     The 
fact  is  certain;  I  have  proofs  of  it.     In  short,  it  is  the  Cordeliers  who 
have  engulfed  one  throne  in  a  sea  of  blood,  in  order  to  make  another 
throne  spring  up  from  it.     They  well  know  that  the  right  side,  on  which 
are  all  the  virtues,  is  also  the  side  that  includes  tho  genuine  republicans; 
and  if  they  accuse  us  of  royalism,  it  is  because  they  want  a  pretext  for 
letting  loose  upon  us  the  fury  of  the  multitude — it  is  because  it  is  easier 
to  find  daggers  against  us  than  reasons.     In  a  single  conspiracy  there 
are  three  or  four.    When  the  whole  of  the  right  side  shall  be  slaughtered, 
the  Duke  of  York  will  come  and  place  himself  on  the  throne,  and  Orleans, 
who  has  promised   it   him,  will  assassinate  him;   Orleans  will   himself   be 
assassinated  by  Marat,  Danton,  and    Robespierre,  who   have  given    him 

the  same  promise,  and  the  triumvirs  will  divide  France,  covered  with 

ashes  and  blood,  among  them,  until  the  ablest  of   them,  that  is,  Danton, 
assassinates   the  other  two,  and  reigns  alone,  first  under  the  title  of 

dictator,    afterwards,    without    disguise,    under    that-    of    king.      Sucli    is 


422  APPENDICES. 

their  plan,  be  assured  ;  by  dint  of  reflection  I  have  found  it  out ;  every- 
thing proves  and  makes  it  evident  :  see  how  all  the  circumstances  bind 
and  unite  together :  there  is  not  an  occurrence  in  the  Revolution  but 
is  a  part  and  a  proof  of  these  horrid  plots.     You  look  surprised,  I  see  ; 
can   you  still  be  incredulous  ?  '     'I  am  indeed  surprised ;  but  tell  me, 
are  there  many  of  you,  that  is,  of  the  right  side,  who  think  like  you 
on    this    subject  ?  '     '  All,   or   nearly   all.     Condorcet    once   made   some 
objections ;   Sieyes  communicates  but   little  with  us  ;  Rabaud,  for  his 
part,  has   another  plan,  which  in   some  respects   agrees  with,  and   in 
some  differs  from  mine  :  but  all  the   others  have  no  more  doubt  than 
myself  of  what  I  have  just  told  you ;  all  feel  the  necessity  of  acting 
promptly,  of  putting  the  irons  in  the  fire,  in  order  to  prevent  so  many 
crimes  and  calamities,  in  order  not  to  lose  all  the  fruit  of  a  Revolution 
which  has  cost  us  so  dear.     In  the  right  side  there  are  members  who 
have  not  sufficient  confidence  in  you  ;  but  I  who  have  been  your  col- 
league, who  know  you  for  an  honest  man,  for  a  friend  of  liberty,  assure 
them  that  you  will  be  for  us,  that  you  will  assist  us  with  all  the  means 
that  your  office  places  at  your  disposal.     Can  you  now  have  the  slightest 
doubt  left  as  to  what  I  have  just  told  you  about  those  villains  ?  '     'I 
should  be  too  unworthy  of  the  esteem  which  you  express  for  me  if  I 
gave  you  reason  to  think  that  I  believe  the  truth  of  this  whole  plan, 
which  you  conceive  to  be  that  of  your  enemies.     The  greater  the  number 
of  circumstances,  men,  and  things  you  introduce  into  it,  the  more  pro- 
bable it  appears  to  yourself,  and  the  less  so  it  appears  to  me.     Most 
of  the  circumstances  out  of  which  you  weave  the  tissue  of  this  plan  have 
had  an  object  which  there  is  no  need  to  lend  them,  which  is  self-evident ; 
and  you  give  them  an  object  which  is  not  self-evident,  and  which  you 
must  lend  them.     Now,  there  must  be  proofs,  in  the  first  place,  for  re- 
jecting a  natural  explanation ;  and  there  must  be  other  proofs  afterwards 
to  induce  the  adoption  of  an  explanation  that  does  not  naturally  pre- 
sent itself.     For  instance,  everybody  believes  that  Lafayette  and  Orleans 
were  enemies,  and  that  it  was  to  deliver  Paris,  France,  and  the  National 
Assembly  from  many  inquietudes  that  Orleans  was  prevailed  upon  or 
forced  by  Lafayette  to  withdraw  for  a  time  from  France  :  it  is  neces- 
sary to  establish,  not  by  assertion,  but  by  proofs,  ist,  that  they  were 
not  enemies  ;  2ndly,  that  they  were  accomplices  ;  3rdly,  that  the  journey 
of  the  Due  d'Orleans  to  England  had  for  its  object  the  execution  of 
their  plots.     I  know  that  with  so  strict  a  mode  of  reasoning  we  run 
the  risk  of  letting  crimes  and  calamities  run  oft"  before  us  without  over- 
taking them,  and  without  stopping  them  by  foresight ;  but  I  know,  too, 
that  in  giving  the  reins  to  the  imagination,  we  build  systems  upon  past 
events  and  upon  future  events ;   we  lose  all  the  means  of  clearly  dis- 
cerning and  duly  appreciating  present  events ;  and  while  dreaming  of 
thousands  of   misdeeds  which   nobody  is  meditating,  we    deprive   our- 
selves of  the  faculty  of  seeing  with  certainty  those  by  which  we  are 
threatened ;  we  drive  enemies  who  are  not  over-scrupulous  to  the  temp- 
tation of  committing  such  as  they  would  never  have  thought  of.     I  have 
no  doubt  that  there  are  many  villains  about  us :  the  unbinding  of  all 
the  passions  has  produced  them,  and  they  are  paid   by  foreign   gold. 
But  depend  upon  it,  if  their  plans  are  atrocious,  they  are  neither  so 
vast,  nor  so  great,  nor  so  complicated,  nor  conceived  and  framed  at  such 
a   distance.     In  all  this  there  are  many   more  thieves  and  murderers 
than  profound  conspirators.     The  real  conspirators  against  the  republic 
are  the  kings  of  Europe  and  the  passions  of  the  republicans.     To  repulse 
the  kings  of  Europe  our  armies  are  sufficient,  and  more  than  sufficient ; 


APPENDICES.  423 

to  prevent  our  passions  from  consuming  us  there  is  one  way,  hut  it  is 
unique — lose  no  time  in  organizing  a  government  possessing  strength 
and  deserving  confidence.  In  the  state  in  which  your  quarrels  leave  the 
government,  a  democracy  even  of  twenty-five  millions  of  angels  would 
soon  be  a  prey  to  all  the  furies  and  to  all  the  dissensions  of  pride  ;  as 
Jean-Jacques  observed,  it  would  require  twenty-five  millions  of  gods, 
and  nobody  ever  yet  took  it  into  his  head  to  imagine  so  many.  My 
dear  Salles,  men  and  great  assemblies  are  not  so  formed  as  that  there 
shall  be  only  gods  on  one  side,  and  only  devils  on  the  other.  Wherever 
there  are  men  with  conflicting  interests  and  opinions,  even  the  good 
have  bad  passions ;  and  the  bad  themselves,  if  you  strive  to  penetrate 
into  their  souls  with  kindliness  and  patience,  are  susceptible  of  right 
and  good  impressions.  I  find  in  the  bottom  of  my  soul  the  evident  and 
invincible  proof  of  at  least  one-half  of  this  truth  :  I  am  good  myself, 
and  as  good,  I  will  venture  to  say,  as  any  of  yovi ;  but  when,  instead  of 
refuting  my  opinions  with  argument  and  good  temper,  they  are  repelled 
with  suspicion  and  insult,  I  am  ready  to  drop  reasoning  and  to  see  if  my 
pistols  are  properly  charged.  You  have  made  me  twice  minister,  and 
twice  you  have  done  me  a  very  ill  service  :  nothing  but  the  dangers 
that  surround  you  and  that  surround  me  could  induce  me  to  retain 
the  post  which  I  hold.  A  brave  man  does  not  apply  for  leave  of  absence 
on  the  eve  of  a  battle.  The  battle,  I  foresee,  is  not  far  distant ;  and 
though  I  foresee,  too,  that  you  will  fire  at  me  from  both  sides,  I  am 
determined  to  remain.  I  will  tell  you  on  every  occasion  what  I  shall 
believe  in  my  reason  and  my  conscience  to  be  true  ;  but  let  me  tell  you 
that  I  shall  take  for  guides  my  own  conscience  and  my  own  reason,  and 
not  those  of  any  other  man  on  earth.  I  have  not  laboured  for  thirty 
years  of  my  life  to  make  a  lantern  for  myself,  and  then  to  suffer  myself 
to  be  lighted  on  my  way  by  the  lantern  of  others.' 

"  Salles  and  I  parted,  shaking  hands  and  embracing,  as  though  we  had 
still  been  colleagues  in  the  Constituent  Assembly." — Garat's  Memoirs. 


WWW. 

[Paije  276.] 
The  Insurrection  in  La  Vendue. 

"When  the  agitation  of  the  public  mind  in  La  Vendee  first  occupied 
the  attention  of  government,  Potion  proposed  that  a  force  should  be 
sent  there  sufficient  to  overawe  the  people,  and  thus  spare  the  effusion 
of  blood.  But  the  ruling  party  ceased  to  preach  moderation,  when  the 
tidings  of  the  more  general  insurrection  reached  the  Convention.  It 
came  indeed  from  all  sides — one  cry  of  alarm.  The  Convention  instantly 
outlawed  every  person  who  should  have  taken  part  with  tho  counter- 
revolutionists;  the  institution  of  juries  was  suspended;  every  man 
taken  in  arms  was  to  be  put  to  death  within  four  and  twenty  hours; 
and  the  evidence  of  a  single  witness  before  a  military  commission  was 
to  be  considered  proof  sufficient.  Death  and  confiscation  of  property 
were    ;ilso    declared    against    the    nobles  and   priests.     The   effect   which 

this  system    produced   was  to  madden   the    Vendeans—  cruelties  pro- 
voked cruelties;   and  on  their  side  the  burning  desire  of  vengeance  was 


424  APPENDICES. 

exasperated  by  conduct  on  the  part  of  their  enemies  more  resembling 
that  of  infernal  agents  than  of  men.  It  is  affirmed  that  it  was  one  of 
their  pleasures  to  burn  the  cattle  alive  in  their  stalls,  and  that  more 
than  eleven  hundred  thousand  were  destroyed  by  them  thus  wantonly 
and  in  sport.  Rossignol  ottered  a  reward  of  ten  livres  for  every  pair  of 
royalist  ears — it  was  actually  claimed  and  paid,  and  there  were  men 
who  wore  human  ears  as  cockades  !  The  insurrection  in  La  Vendee, 
according  to  Hoche's  statement,  cost  the  lives  of  six  hundred  thousand 
Frenchmen,  and  not  a  fifth  part  of  the  male  population  was  left  alive. 
The  state  in  which  these  unhappy  provinces  were  left  may  be  understood 
from  a  single  anecdote.  Near  Chollet  there  were  extensive  bleaching- 
gr<  mnds,  the  proprietors  of  which  kept  a  great  number  of  watch-dogs ; 
the  town,  after  having  been  sacked  and  burned,  was  repeatedly  disputed, 
till  at  length,  both  parties,  weary  of  contending  for  a  heap  of  ruins, 
abandoned  it.  The  dogs,  to  the  number  of  four  or  five  hundred,  took 
possession  of  the  ruins,  and  remained  there  for  many  weeks  feeding  on 
the  unburied  bodies.  After  the  pacification,  when  the  refugees  attempted 
to  return  and  rebuild  their  houses,  the  animals  had  become  so  ferocious 
that  they  attacked  and  would  have  devoured  them  ;  and  a  battalion 
of  republican  soldiers  were  actually  obliged  to  march  against  the  dogs, 
and  exterminate  them,  before  the  place  could  be  reinhabited." — Quarterly 
Be.view. 


Origin  of  the  War  in  La  Vendue. 

The  Bocage  is  an  appellation  of  local  fitness  which  has  been  dis- 
regarded in  the  political  divisions  of  the  country.  Under  the  old 
monarchy  it  made  part  of  Poitou,  of  Anjou,  and  of  the  Comte  Nantais  ; 
under  the  revolutionary  distribution,  it  lies  in  the  four  departments  of 
the  Lower  Loire,  the  Maine  and  Loire,  the  two  Sevres,  and  La  Vendee. 
The  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the 
inhabitants,  were  alike  peculiar.  The  whole  surface  consists  of  low  hills 
and  narrow  valleys  ;  scarcely  a  single  eminence  rises  above  the  other 
sufficiently  to  give  a  commanding  view,  and  there  is  no  extent  of  level 
ground.  These  valleys  are  watered  with  innumerable  brooklets  flowing 
in  different  directions,  some  towards  the  Loire,  some  making  their  way 
to  the  sea,  others  winding  till  they  reach  the  Plain,  a  slip  of  land  on  the 
south  border  of  the  Bocage,  where  they  form  small  rivers.  Such  is  the 
general  appearance  of  the  country.  Along  the  Sevre  towards  Nantes  it 
assumes  a  wilder  character  ;  farther  east  towards  the  Loire,  the  valleys 
expand,  and  the  declivities  fall  in  wider  sweeps.  There  are  few  forests  ; 
but  the  whole  region  has  the  woody  appearance  of  a  Flemish  landscape. 
The  enclosures  are  small,  and  always  surrounded  with  quick  hedges,  in 
which  trees  stand  thickly  ;  these  trees  are  pollarded  every  fifth  year,  a 
stem  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  being  left  standing.  Only  one  great  road, 
that  from  Nantes  to  Rochelle,  traverses  the  country.  Between  this 
and  the  road  from  Tours  to  Bordeaux,  by  way  of  Poitiers,  an  interval 
of  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  there  are  only  cross-roads  of  the  worst 
description.  The  byways  are  like  those  in  Herefordshire,  where  the  best 
account  which  a  traveller  hears  is,  that  there  is  a  good  bottom  when  you 
come  to  it.  They  are  narrow  passes  worn  in  a  deep  soil  between  high 
hedges,  which  sometimes  meet  overhead — miry  in  the  wet  season,  and 
rugged  in  summer.  Upon  a  descent,  the  way  usually  serves  both  for  a 
road  and  the  bed  of  a  brook.     One  of  these  ways  is  like  another :  at  the 


APPENDICES.  425 

end  of  every  field  you  come  to  a  cross-road,  and  the  inhabitants  them- 
selves are  bewildered  in  this  endless  labyrinth  if  they  go  a  few  miles 
from  their  own  home. 

"  The  Bocage  includes  about  seven-ninths  of  the  Vendean  country. 
There  are  two  other  natural  divisions:  the  Plain,  which  has  already 
been  slightly  mentioned,  and  which  took  no  direct  part  in  the  war; 
and  the  Marsh,  or  the  sea-coast,  a  track  intersected  with  innumerable 
ditches  and  canals,  where  the  inhabitants  bear  all  the  external  marks 
of  sickliness  and  misery;  yet  have  they  enjoyments  of  their  own;  and 
charms  might  be  found  in  the  region  itself  were  it  not  for  its  in- 
salubrity. M.  Berthre  de  Bourniseaux,  a  Vendean,  compares  his  native 
country  to  a  vast  body  covered  with  arteries — but  without  a  heart: 
without  roads,  without  navigable  rivers,  without  any  means  of  exporta- 
tion— it  had  no  trade  to  stimulate,  no  centre  to  enliven,  no  cities  to 
civilize  it.  The  largest  towns  contained  not  more  than  from  two  to 
three  thousand  inhabitants:  the  villages  were  small  and  at  wide  in- 
tervals, and  the  country  was  divided  into  small  farms,  rarely  any  one 
exceeding  six  hundred  francs  in  rent.  The  chief  wealth  was  in  cattle ; 
and  the  landholders  usually  divided  the  produce  with  the  tenant.  A 
property  which  consisted  of  five  and  twenty  or  thirty  such  farms  was 
thought  considerable.  There  was  therefore  no  odious  inequality  in 
La  Vendee,  and  the  lords  and  vassals  were  connected  by  ties  which 
retained  all  that  was  good  of  the  feudal  system,  while  all  that  was  evil 
had  passed  away.  The  French  writers  lament  the  unimproved  state  of 
the  people,  their  ignorance,  their  prejudices,  and  their  superstitions; 
but  nowhere  in  France  were  the  peasantry  more  innocent  or  more 
contented,  nowhere  have  they  shown  themselves  capable  of  equal 
exertions  and  equal  heroism.  There  was  little  pride  among  the  gentry, 
and  no  ostentation;  they  dwelt  more  upon  their  estates  than  was 
usual  in  other  provinces,  and  thus,  for  the  most  part,  escaped  the 
leprous  infections  of  Paris.  Their  luxury  lay  in  hospitality,  and  the 
chase  was  their  sole  amusement  ;  in  this  the  peasantry  had  their  share. 
When  the  wolf,  the  boar,  or  the  stag  was  to  be  hunted,  the  cure  gave 
notice  in  the  church,  and  the  country  turned  out  at  the  time  and 
place  appointed,  every  man  with  his  gun,  with  the  same  alacrity  ami 
obedience  which  they  afterwards  displayed  in  war.  On  Sundays  the 
peasantry  danced  in  the  court  of  the  Chateau,  and  the  ladies  of  the 
family  joined  them.  The  lords  seem  to  have  been  their  own  stewards: 
they  went  about  their  farms,  talked  with  their  tenants,  saw  things 
with  their  own  eyes,  shared  in  the  losses  as  well  as  the  gains,  attended 
at  the  weddings  and  drank  with  the  guests.  It  was  not  possible  that 
revolutionary  principles  could  mislead  a  people  thus  circumstanced. 

"There  are  historical  grounds  for  supposing  that  the  Vendeans  are 
descended  from  the  Huns,  Vandals,  and  I'icts  who  subdued  the  western 
parts  of  France  :  their  form  and  complexion  support  this  opinion,  giving 
strong  indications  that  they  are  neither  of  Gallic  nor  Frank  descent. 
Perhaps  nothing  distinguishes  them  more  from  Frenchmen  in  general 
than  their  remarkable  taciturnity,  unless  it  be  the  purity  of  manners  for 
which  their  countrymen  extol  them.  Drunkenness  is  the  sin  which 
most  easily  besets  them;  worse  vices  are  said  to  have  been  almost  un- 
known to  them  before  the  civil  wars;  and  the  Vendeans  in  general  were 
said  to  be  -cod  fathers,  good  sons,  and  good  husbands.  Few  quarrels 
occurred  among  them,  and  no  lawsuits:  they  had  a  wholesome  proverb, 
that  no  saint  had  ever  been  a  lawyer,  .-md  their  disputes  therefore  were 

always  referred  and  easily  accommodated  by  friendly  arbitration.     Anion- 


426  APPENDICES. 

their  sports,  there  are  two  which  seem  deserving  of  notice.  Commune 
would  challenge  commune  to  a  trial  of  strength,  like  that  which  con- 
cludes the  game  of  steal-clothes  in  the  West  of  England — a  line  is  drawn, 
an  equal  number  of  picked  men  lay  hold  of  a  long  rope,  and  the  party 
which  pulls  the  other  out  of  its  own  ground  is  victorious.  The  other 
sport  is  of  an  intellectual  character.  He  who  kills  a  pig  usually  invites 
his  neighbours  to  a  feast  which  is  called  lesrilles  ;  after  the  supper,  when 
their  spirits  are  all  raised  by  wine,  some  one  of  the  company  mounts  the 
table  and  delivers  a  satirical  sermon.  La  maniere  de  /aire  I'amour  tient 
Ha  pen  dans  ce  pays  de  celle  des  chats,  says  M.  Bourniseaux.  The  men 
pinch  the  girls,  untie  their  aprons,  and  steal  kisses,  for  all  which  the 
girls  box  their  ears  in  return.  At  marriages,  the  bridemaids  present 
the  bride  with  a  distaff  and  spindle,  to  remind  her  of  her  domestic 
duties  ;  and  with  a  branch  of  thorn,  ornamented  with  ribbons  and  fruit 
or  sweetmeats,  emblematical  of  the  sorrows  as  well  as  pleasures  of  the 
state  which  she  is  about  to  enter :  at  the  same  time  a  marriage  song  is 
sung  ;  its  tenor  is  that  the  season  of  joy  and  thoughtlessness  is  past, 
that  the  morning  of  life  is  gone  by,  that  the  noon  is  full  of  cares,  and 
that  as  the  day  advances  we  must  prepare  for  trouble  and  grief — a 
mournful  but  wholesome  lesson,  which  is  seldom  heard  without  tears. 
If  the  bride  has  an  elder  sister  still  in  her  state  of  spinstership,  she  is 
made  to  spin  coarse  flax  ;  and  if  an  elder  brother  of  the  bridegroom  be 
unmarried,  he  has  the  severe  task  assigned  him  of  making  a  faggot  of 
thorns.     The  sports  continue  till  all  the  wine  is  consumed. 

"  The  smaller  landholders  and  the  townsmen  were  on  good  terms  with 
the  nobles,  but  had  not  the  same  attachment  to  them  as  was  felt  by 
the  peasantry.  Among  them  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  was  re- 
garded with  pleasure  :  the  towns,  indeed,  were  generally  attached  to 
the  new  principles ;  but  the  bond  of  goodwill  was  not  broken,  and  the 
Vendeans  acquit  their  countrymen,  who  took  part  with  the  republic,  of 
any  share  in  the  atrocities  which  were  committed.  In  the  Plain  some 
personal  animosity  was  displayed  during  the  first  movement  of  1789,  and 
some  chateaux  were  destroyed — this  part  of  the  country  was  much  more 
civilized,  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  vice  had  kept  pace  with  civiliza- 
tion. But  in  the  Bocage  the  people  wished  to  remain  as  they  were, 
believing  that  no  change  could  improve  a  condition  in  which  they  enjoyed 
peace,  plenty,  security,  and  contentment.  When  the  national  guards 
were  formed,  the  lord  was  called  upon  in  every  parish  to  take  the  com- 
mand ;  when  mayors  were  to  be  appointed,  it  was  the  lord  who  was 
everywhere  chosen ;  and  when  orders  were  published  to  remove  the  seats 
of  the  lords  from  the  churches,  they  were  not  obeyed  in  La  Vendee. 
The  peasantry  had  neither  been  stung  by  insults  nor  aggrieved  by  op- 
pression ;  they  regarded  the  lords  as  their  friends  and  benefactors,  and 
respect  and  gratitude  are  natural  to  the  heart  of  uncorrupted  man.  The 
law  which  imposed  a  constitutional  oath  upon  the  clergy  injured  them 
more  deeply ;  their  priests  were  almost  all  born  among  them,  they 
spoke  the  dialect  as  their  mother-tongue,  they  were  bred  up  in  the  same 
habits,  and  the  people  were  attached  to  them  by  every  possible  tie  of 
respect  and  love.  Even  General  Turreau  confesses  that  their  lives  were 
exemplary,  and  their  manners  truly  patriarchal — II  faut  en  convenir,  la 
plupart  de  ceuxci  menaient  une  vie  exemplaire,  et  avaient  conserve  les  moiurs 
patriarchates.  When  therefore  their  pastors  were  superseded  by  men 
who  had  taken  an  oath  which  the  Vendeans  held  in  abhorrence,  the 
churches  were  deserted,  the  new  clergy  were  in  some  places  insulted,  in 
others  driven  away.     In  a  parish  consisting  of  four  thousand  inhabitants, 


APPENDICES.  427 

one  of  these  men  could  not  obtain  tire  to  light  the  church  tapers. 
Partial  insurrections  took  place,  and  blood  was  shed.  A  peasant  of  Bas 
Poitou  resisted  the  gendarmes  with  a  pitchfork  ;  he  had  received  two 
and  twenty  sabre  strokes,  when  they  cried  to  him,  Rends-toi  !  Rendez-moi 
moii  Dieu  !  was  his  reply,  and  he  died  as  the  words  were  uttered. 

"After  the  10th  of  August,  a  persecution  of  the  refractory  priests 
began  ;  and  the  peasants,  like  the  Cameronians  in  Scotland,  gathered 
together,  arms  in  hand,  to  hear  mass  in  the  field,  and  die  in  defending 
their  spiritual  father.  More  than  forty  parishes  assembled  tumul- 
tuously.  The  national  guards  of  the  Plain  routed  this  ill-armed  and 
worse  conducted  crowd,  and  slew  about  a  hundred  in  the  field.  Life 
and  free  pardon  were  offered  to  others  if  they  would  only  cry  Vive  la 
mi  I  ion  !  There  were  very  few  who  would  accept  of  life  upon  these  terms  : 
the  greater  number  fell  on  their  knees,  not  in  supplication  to  man, 
but  in  prayer  to  heaven,  and  offered  themselves  bravely  to  the  stroke 
of  death  ;  from  man  they  requested  no  other  favours  than  that  a  little 
earth  might  be  thrown  over  their  remains,  to  preserve  them  from  the 
wolves  and  dogs. 

"  The  revolutionary  writers  insist  that  the  war  in  La  Vendee  was 
the  result  of  plans  long  existing  and  ably  concerted.  General  Turreau 
says,  II  faut  itre  Men  ignorant  ou  de  bien  mauvaise  foi,  pour  assigner 
wne  cause  e'ventuelle  et  instantane'e  a  la  revolte  du  Bas  Poitou.  General 
Turreau  was  the  faithful  servant  of  the  Convention  in  its  bloodiest 
days,  and  the  faithful  servant  of  Bonaparte  after  his  return  from  Elba : 
he  hated  the  old  government,  and  he  hated  the  Bourbons,  whatever 
government  they  might  establish  ;  but  he  never  objected  to  the  wildest 
excesses  of  revolutionary  madness,  nor  to  the  heaviest  yoke  of  imperial 
despotism.  General  Turreau,  therefore,  may  be  sincere  in  disbelieving 
that  a  sense  of  religion  and  loyalty  could  instantaneously  rouse  a  brave 
and  simple  people  to  arms,  because,  never  having  felt  either  the  one 
sentiment  or  the  other,  he  is  utterly  ignorant  of  their  nature  and  their 
strength.  He  supposes  a  conspiracy  of  the  emigrants,  the  nobles,  and 
the  priests,  fomented  by  foreign  powers.  M.  Bourniseaux,  with  more 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances  and  the  people,  with  more  truth,  with 
sounder  philosophy,  and  with  a  better  heart,  ascribes  the  moving 
impulse  to  its  real  source.  To  expect,  he  says,  that  the  nobles  and 
clergy — insulted,  injured,  outraged,  and  plundered,  as  they  were  by  the 
Revolution  should  have  embraced  the  Revolution,  would  be  to  know 
little  of  the  human  heart — -Cent  ete  dcmander  a  la  philosophic  un 
miracle,  et  Von  suit  que  la  philosophic  n'en  jit  jamais.  But  he  declares 
that  in  the  insurrection  of  La  Vendee  the  priests  and  nobles  were,  for 
the  most  part,  forced  to  make  common  cause  with  tho  insurgents;  that 
with  very  few  exceptions  they  did  not  come  forward  voluntarily  to  take 
the  lead;  that  having  taken  arms,  they  exerted  themselves  strenuously; 
but  that  when  terms  of  pacification  were  proposed,  they  were  the  first 
to  submit,  and  the  peasantry  were  the  last.  That  the  peasants  should 
thus  have  acted,  he  says,  may  well  astonish  posterity;  for  they  derived 
nothing  but  benefit  from  the  Revolution,  which  delivered  them  from 
the  payment  of  tithes  and  from  the  feudal  grievances.  Thus,  however, 
it  was:   in   .Jacobinical   phrase,   they    were   not  ripe   for  the   Revolution; 

which  is,  being  interpreted,  thej  loved  their  King  and  their  God,  their 
morals  were  uncorrupt,  their  piety  was  sincere  and  fervent,  their  sense 
of  duty  towards  God  and  man  unshaken.  Hitherto  what  tumults  had 
broken   out   had  been   partial,  and   provoked    merely   by  local  vexations, 

chiefly  respecting  the  priests;  but  when  the  Convention  called  for  a 


42  8  APPENDICES. 

conscription  of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  a  measure  which  would 
have  forced  their  sons  to  tight  for  a  cause  which  they  abhorred,  one 
feeling  of  indignation  rose  through  the  whole  country,  and  the  insur- 
rection through  all  La  Vendee  broke  forth  simultaneously  and  with- 
out concert  or  plan.  The  same  principle  which  made  them  take  arms 
made  them  look  to  their  own  gentry  for  leaders ;  the  opportunity  was 
favourable  ;  nor  can  it  now  be  doubted,  that  if  the  Bourbon  princes 
and  the  allied  powers  had  known  how  to  profit  by  the  numerous 
opportunities  offered  them  in  these  western  provinces,  the  monarchy 
might  long  since  have  been  restored. 

"The  ioth  of  March  1793  was  the  day  appointed  for  drawing  the 
conscription  at  St.  Florent,  in  Anjou,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Loire. 
The  young  men  assembled  with  a  determination  not  to  submit  to  it. 
After  exhorting  them  in  vain,  the  republican  commander  brought  out 
a  piece  of  cannon  to  intimidate  them,  and  fired  upon  them ;  they  got 
possession  of  the  gun,  routed  the  gendarmes,  burnt  the  papers,  and 
after  passing  the  rest  of  the  day  in'  rejoicing,  returned  to  grow  sober, 
and  contemplate  upon  the  vengeance  which  would  follow  them.  One 
of  the  most  respectable  peasants  in  this  part  of  the  country  was  a  wool- 
dealer  of  the  village  of  Pin  en  Mauges,  by  name  Jacques  Cathelineau. 
About  twenty  young  men  promised  to  follow  wherever  he  would 
lead:  he  was  greatly  beloved  and  respected  in  his  neighbourhood, 
being  a  man  of  quiet  manners,  great  piety,  and  strong  natural  talents. 
They  rang  the  tocsin  in  the  village  of  Poiteviniere ;  their  number  soon 
amounted  to  about  a  hundred,  and  they  determined  to  attack  a  party 
of  about  eighty  republicans  who  were  posted  at  Jallars  with  a  piece  of 
cannon.  On  the  way  they  gathered  more  force ;  they  carried  the  post, 
took  some  horses  and  prisoners,  and  got  possession  of  the  gun,  which 
they  named  Le  Missionaire.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  which  also 
increased  their  numbers,  they  attacked  two  hundred  republicans  the 
same  day  at  Chemiile,  with  three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  they  met  with 
the  same  success.  At  the  same  time  a  young  man,  by  name  Foret,  in 
the  same  part  of  the  country,  killed  a  gendarme  who  sought  to  arrest 
him,  ran  to  the  church,  rang  the  tocsin,  and  raised  a  second  body  of 
insurgents.  A  third  was  raised  in  like  manner  by  Stofflet,  a  man  who 
had  served  sixteen  years  as  a  soldier,  and  was  at  that  time  gamekeeper 
to  the  Marquis  de  Maulevrier.  On  the  16th  of  March  both  these 
troops  joined  Cathelineau  ;  they  marched  that  very  day  upon  Ohollet, 
the  most  important  town  in  that  part  of  the  country,  garrisoned  by 
five  hundred  soldiers.  These  also  fell  into  their  power,  and  they  found 
there  arms,  ammunition,  and  money.  Easter  was  at  hand  ;  and  the 
insurgents,  thinking  they  had  done  enough  to  make  themselves  feared, 
thought  they  might  keep  the  holidays  as  usual :  they  dispersed,  every 
man  to  his  own  house ;  and  a  republican  column  from  Angers  traversed 
the  country  without  meeting  with  the  slightest  resistance,  and  also 
without  committing  the  slightest  act  of  violence— a  moderation  which 
M.  de  Larochejaquelein  ascribes  to  fear.  When  the  holidays  were 
over  the  insurgents  appeared  again  ;  success  had  given  them  confidence 
in  their  strength;  and  looking  forward  with  hope  of  some  important 
results  from  the  devoted  spirit  of  loyalty  which  they  felt  in  themselves, 
and  which  they  well  knew  pervaded  the  country,  they  called  for  the 
gentry  of  the  country  to  lead  them  on. 

"  There  was  more  discipline  in  a  feudal  army,  or  among  the  troops  of 
guerillas,  than  among  the  Vendeans.  The  men  could  not  be  induced 
to  form  a  patrol,  or  act  as  sentinels  —  these  were  charges  which  they 


APPENDICES.  429 

would  not  undertake  for  any  reward  ;  and  when  it  was  necessary,  the 
officers  were  obliged  to  perform  this  duty  themselves.  To  this  defect 
in  their  system  some  of  their  most  ruinous  defeats  must  be  ascribed. 

When  the  army  was  assembled,  and  different  columns  were  to  be 
formed  to  march  against  the  various  points  of  attack,  the  manner  of 
forming  them  was  singular,  and  not  without  its  advantage.  Notice 
was  given,  M.  de  Larochejaquelein  is  going  by  such  a  road,  who  will 
follow  him  P  M.  Cathelineau  goes  in  yonder  direction,  who  foil  >ws 
him?  The  men  were  thus  allowed  to  follow  their  favourite  leader, 
with  no  other  restriction  than  that  when  a  sufficient  number  had 
volunteered,  no  more  were  allowed  to  join.  A  system  of  tactics  had 
been  formed,  perfectly  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  troops  and  of 
the  country.  We  have  heard  much  of  the  improvements  made  by  the 
French  republicans  in  the  art  of  war,  and  of  the  advantages  which 
their  armies  derived  when  the  field  was  once  left  open  to  merit,  and 
men  rose  from  the  ranks  to  the  highest  military  rank.  These  things 
imposed  upon  the  English  people  too  long.  In  La  Vendee  it  is  per- 
fectly certain  that  the  generals  who  were  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment had  no  other  claim  to  promotion  than  their  brutality,  and  their 
services  amongst  mobs  or  in  the  clubs  of  the  metropolis.  Among  the 
royalists  they  were  first  selected  from  old  feelings  of  hereditary  respect ; 
hut  intellect  immediately  rose  to  its  level,  and  even  before  any  feelings 
of  selfishness,  or  ambition,  or  vanity  mingled  with  and  defaced  the 
principle  which  first  roused  them  to  arms.  Stofflet  and  Cathelineau 
w< 'it  attended  to  in  the  council  with  as  much  deference,  and  obeyed 
in  the  field  with  as  much  readiness,  as  Lescure  and  Larochejaquelein. 
The  first  principle  of  the  Vendeans  was  always  to  be  assailants,  to 
fight  only  when  they  pleased  and  where  they  pleased ;  and  inasmuch 
as  they  observed  this  principle,  they  always  fought  to  advantage. 
When  they  reached  the  point  of  attack,  the  companies  wei*e  formed 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  column,  every  man  following  the  captain 
whom  he  preferred.  Their  usual  order  of  battle,  according  to  General 
Turreau,  was  in  a  crescent,  with  the  wings  en  jl&che,  composed  of  the 
best  marksmen,  men  who  never  fired  a  shot  without  taking  a  steady 
aim,  and  who  never  at  ordinary  distances  failed  in  their  mark:  their 
skill  in  the  use  of  fire-arms  was  such  that  he  says  no  military  people, 
however  trained,  however  skilful,  could  compare  with  the  hunters  and 
sportsmen  of  Loroux  and  the  Bocage  as  musketeers.  But  order  of  battle 
was  what  they  seldom  thought  of;  and  their  tactics  are  more  clearly 
explained  by  the  Marchioness,  who  understood  them  better  from  the 
conversation  of  her  husband  and  her  friends,  than  General  Turreau 
did  from  his  defeats  or  his  victories.  Their  whole  tactics,  she  says, 
consisted  in  creeping  behind  the  hedges  and  surrounding  the  enemy, 
which  the  nature  of  the  country  easily  enabled  them  to  do ;  then  they 
poured  in  on  all  sides  a  murderous  fire — not  in  platoons,  but  every 
man  as  fast  as  he  could  load,  and  make  sure  of  his  victim,  loading 
with  four  or  five  balls,  and  firing  point-blank  against  men  in  close 
ranks.       The    moment    that    the    Blues    appeared    confused,    or    ottered 

pportunity,  they  set  up  their  dreadful  yell,  and  sprang  upon  them    like 

1>1 Ihoiinds    in    pursuit.       Men    of    the    greatest    strength    and    agility 

had  it   in  charge  to  seize   the  artillery,  to  prevent  it,  as   they  said,  from 
doing    mischief.       'You,   Sir,    you   are    a    strong    fellow,    leap    upon    the 

cannon.'      Sometimes   with   no   better   weapon   than   a    stake    pointed 
with  iron,  the  peasants  would  do  this,  and  drive  the  enemy  from  their 

guns.      II    the  attack'  was  made  in  a  more  open  country,  they  accelerated 


1 ) 


430  APPENDICES. 

the  decisive  movement,  and  rushed  at  once  upon  the  cannon,  falling 
upon  the  ground  when  they  saw  the  flash,  rising  instantly  and  running 
towards  them.  But  they  preferred  the  cover  in  which,  from  their  manner 
of  firing,  they  were  sure  of  killing  five  for  one.  Their  officers  never 
thought  of  saying,  to  the  right  or  to  the  left ;  they  pointed  out  some 
visible  object,  a  house  or  a  tree. 

"  Before  they  began  the  battle  they  said  their  prayer,  and  almost  every 
man  crossed  himself  before  he  fired  his  piece.  Meantime,  as  soon  as 
the  firing  was  heard,  the  women  and  children,  and  all  who  remained  in 
the  villages,  ran  to  the  church  to  pray  for  the  victory ;  and  they  who 
happened  to  be  working  a-field  fell  on  their  knees  there  under  the 
canopy  of  heaven,  and  called  upon  the  God  of  Hosts  to  protect  those 
who  were  fighting  for  His  altars  and  for  His  holy  name.  Throughout 
all  La  Vendee,  says  the  Marchioness,  there  was  but  one  thought  and  one 
supplication  at  one  time.  Every  one  waited  in  prayer  the  event  of  a 
battle  upon  which  the  fate  of  all  seemed  to  depend.  Turreau  speaks 
with  horror  of  the  effect  of  such  a  system,  and  calls  upon  those  officers 
who  had  served  upon  the  frontiers,  before  they  were  sent  into  these 
departments,  to  say  if  the  Austrians,  or  the  disciplined  troops  of  old 
Frederick,  were  as  terrible  in  action,  or  possessed  as  much  address, 
stratagem,  and  audacity  as  the  peasants  of  the  Bocage ;  to  say  if  it 
were  possible  that  any  war  could  be  more  cruel  and  more  fatiguing  for 
soldiers  of  all  sorts  ;  and  if  they  would  not  rather  make  a  year's  cam- 
paign upon  the  frontiers  than  serve  a  single  month  in  La  Vendee. 
'  You  are  crushed,'  says  he,  '  before  you  have  time  to  reconnoitre,  under 
a  mass  of  fire,  with  which  the  effect  of  our  ranks  is  not  to  be  compared. 
If  you  withstand  their  violent  attack,  they  rarely  dispute  the  victory ; 
but  you  derive  little  fruit  from  it :  it  is  scarcely  ever  that  cavalry  can 
be  employed  in  pursuit ;  they  disperse,  and  escape  from  you  over  fields 
and  hedges,  through  woods  and  thickets,  knowing  every  path,  gap,  gorge, 
and  defile,  every  obstacle  which  may  impede  their  flight,  and  every 
means  of  avoiding  them.'  Home  they  went,  out  of  breath,  but  not  out 
of  heart,  ready  and  eager  for  the  next  summons,  and  crying,  Vive  le  Boi ! 
qiumd  mime.  .  .  .  But  inasmuch  as  their  flight  was  easy,  retreat  for  the 
republicans  became  murderous.  Lost  among  the  labyrinthine  roads  of 
the  Bocage,  they  fell  in  small  parties  into  the  hands  of  the  villagers, 
who  made  sure,  in  the  retreat,  of  all  stragglers.  The  pursuit  was 
terrible  :  the  conquerors  knew  the  ground  ;  they  understood  where  and 
how  to  intercept  the  fugitives ;  they  could  load  as  they  ran,  and  keep 
up  as  quick  a  fire  in  the  chase  as  in  the  battle.  The  benefits  which  the 
republicans  derived  from  five  or  six  victories  were  not  equal  to  the  evils 
which  they  endured  in  one  defeat.  '  Dead  bodies,'  says  Turreau,  '  were 
all  the  spoils  of  the  field :  neither  arms  nor  ammunition  were  ever 
taken.  If  the  Vendean  was  pursued  he  had  his  musket,  and  when  in 
danger  of  being  taken  he  broke  it.  But  the  raw  levies  whom  the  Con- 
vention at  first  sent  against  them  threw  away  their  arms  and  encum- 
brances as  soon  as  they  took  panic  ;  and  if  only  two  or  three  hundred 
men  were  left  upon  the  field,  the  royalists  gathered  up  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  muskets.' 

"  If  there  be  one  thing  more  honourable  to  the  Vendeans  than  another 
in  this  memorable  contest,  it  is  that  the  republicans  never  could  estab- 
lish a  system  of  espionage  among  them;  whenever  they  attempted  to 
employ  one  of  the  natives  as  a  spy,  the  man  either  trifled  with  them,  or 
betrayed  them.  And  this  Turreau  gives  as  one  reason  for  laying  waste 
the  country  with  fire  and  sword,  and  exterminating  the  people — but  of 


APPENDICES.  431 

this  hereafter.  Their  zeal  was  carried  to  the  utmost  height ;  even  this 
general,  the  agent  of  Robespierre  and  Bonaparte,  compares  it  to  that 
with  which  the  crusaders  were  animated,  and  says  that  the  defenders 
of  the  Throne  and  the  Altar  seemed  to  have  taken  the  Preux  of  the 
days  of  chivalry  for  their  models.  They  went  to  battle,  he  says,  as  to  a 
festival ;  women  and  old  men,  and  priests  and  children,  exciting  and 
partaking  the  rage  of  the  soldiers ;  he  had  himself  seen  boys  of  twelve 
years  old  slain  in  the  ranks  ;  and  he  may  be  believed,  for  M.  de  Puisaye 
affirms  that  Boisguay,  who  commanded  a  division  of  three  thousand 
men  among  the  Chouans,  was  but  fifteen.  M.  Berthre  de  Bourniseaux 
denies  the  stories  which  are  related  of  their  superstition  and  gross 
credulity ;  yet  there  are  passages  in  the  Marchioness's  Memoirs  which 
clearly  show  their  proneness  to  superstition;  and  surely  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  the  perpetual  danger  in  which  they  lived, 
and  the  horrors  which  were  continually  before  their  eyes,  were  likely  to 
inflame  their  imaginations.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the  priests  promised 
them  a  miracle,  and  declared  that  all  who  were  killed  by  the  enemy  in 
the  cause  of  the  holy  church  should  rise  again  from  the  dead  on  the 
third  day.  It  is  added  that  many  women  kept  the  bodies  of  their 
husbands  and  their  sons  unburied,  in  expectation  of  this  resurrection  ; 
and  a  yet  wilder  tale  is  told  by  Prudhomme,  which  some  German  poet 
whose  imagination  revolts  at  no  conceivable  horror  might  think  a  fit 
subject  to  be  clothed  in  verse.  A  girl  who  had  heard  and  believed  this 
opinion,  suddenly  remembered  it  as  she  was  watching  by  the  death-bed 
of  her  lover.  It  occurred  to  her  how  happy  it  would  be  for  both  if  he 
could  be  made  a  partaker  of  this  resurrection  :  he  was  too  weak  to  leave 
his  bed — oh,  that  the  Blues  might  find  him  there,  and  give  him  his 
crown  of  martyrdom  !  Some  republican  troops  entered  the  village ;  she 
tired  at  them  from  the  window,  and  escaped  by  a  back  door  into  the 
woods.  They  broke  open  the  doors  and  murdered  the  dying  man. 
After  some  hours  she  returned  ;  her  first  design  had  been  accomplished ; 
and  she  closed  the  door  carefully.  The  second  day  she  placed  provisions 
by  the  bedside  ;  the  third  day,  came  and  called  him  ;  and  clung  still  to 
the  hope  of  seeing  him  revive,  tdl  the  fourth  morning,  when  she  could 
no  longer  resist  the  painful  evidence  of  her  senses. 

"This  was  a  case  of  individual  madness,  the  effect  of  love,  grief,  credulity, 
and  insane  hope.  From  such  cases  no  general  inferences  can  lie  drawn  ; 
but  that  the  Vendeans  were  generally  under  the  influence  of  strong  re- 
ligious enthusiasm  is  certain.  Man,  who  is  by  nature  religious,  always 
becomes  superstitious  in  proportion  as  he  is  ignorant  or  ill-instructed; 
and  times  of  public  calamity  are  always  times  of  fanaticism,  lint  how- 
ever exalted  the  imaginations  of  this  brave  people  may  have  been,  and 
however  extravagant  their  expectations  of  the  visible  interference  of 
heaven,  their  earthly  desh'es,  if  the  monarchy  should  by  their  efforts  be  re- 
stored, indicate  equal  moderation  and  nobleness  of  mind.  First  they  would 
have  asked  that  the  whole  of  the  Bocage,  which  now  made  part  of  three 
provinces,  should  be  formed  into  a  separate  province  under  the  name  of 
La  Vendee,  a  name  which  they  now  regarded  with  becoming  pride;  they 
would  have  entreated  the  King  that  he  would  lie  pleased  once  to  honour 
it  witli  his  presence;  that  a  corps  of  Vendeans  might  form  part  of  his 
body-guard;  and  that  in  memory  of  the  war  the  white  Hag  might 
always  be  hoisted  upon  the  towers  of  all  their  churches.  They  desired 
no  diminution  of  imposts,  no  exemption  from  military  services,  no 
peculiar  privileges;  but  they  would  have  solicited  that  some  former 
plans  for  opening  roads  and  rendering  their  streams  navigable  might 


432 


APPENDICES. 


be  effected.     Such  was  the  recompense  which  the  Vendeans  would  have 

asked  if  they  had  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  Jacobin  tyranny,  and 
placing  the  innocent  Dauphin  upon  the  throne  of  his  murdered  father. 
Shame  be  to  the  Bourbons  if  it  be  not  accorded  them  now  !  "--  Quarterly 
Review,  vol.  xv. 


XXX. 

[Page  279.] 
Lamarque. 

"  F.  Lamarque  was  a  member  of  the  Convention,  and  voted  for  the 
death  of  Louis  XVI.  He  early  declared  against  the  Girondins,  and  was 
sent  to  the  army  of  the  North,  with  some  other  commissioners,  to  arrest 
Dumouriez  ;  but  that  general  delivered  them  up  to  the  Prince  of  Coburg, 
and  they  were  kept  in  confinement  by  the  Austrians  till  1795,  when 
they  were  exchanged  for  the  daughter  of  Louis.  In  1800  Lamarque 
was  appointed  prefect  of  the  department  of  the  Tarn,  which  he  held  till 
the  year  1804,  when  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  tribunal  of  cassation, 
and  decorated  with  the  legionary  cross."-  —Bioijrapliie  Moderne. 


YYY. 

[Page  280.] 

General  Ferrand. 

"  P.  E.  Ferrand,  a  nobleman,  and  during  the  Revolution  a  general 
of  brigade,  was  born  at  Castres.  In  1792  he  was  employed  under 
Dumouriez,  and  commanded  part  of  his  left  wing  at  Jemappes.  Some 
time  after  he  was  appointed  commander  of  Mops,  and  in  1793  defended 
Valenciennes  for  eighty-seven  days.  In  1804  he  retired  to  La  Planchette, 
near  Paris,  and  died  there  in  1805,  at  seventy  years  of  age." — Piographie 
Moderne. 


zzz. 

[Page  286.] 

BOUCHOTTE. 

"Bouchotte,  commandant  of  Cambray,  having  lung  remained  in  ob- 
scurity, was  raised  in  1793  to  the  administration  of  the  war  depart- 
ment, in  the  room  of  Beurnonville.  Having  escaped  the  perils  of  the 
Reign  of  Terror,  he  retired  to  Metz,  and  was  there  called  to  the  municipal 
and  elective  functions  in  1799.  He  retired  from  active  life  in  the  year 
1 805." — Biographie  Modtme. 


APPENDICES.  433 

AAAA. 

[Page  287.] 
Br£ard. 

"Jean  Jacques  Breard  was  a  landholder  at  Marennes.  In  1791  he 
was  appointed  deputy  to  the  Legislative  Assembly,  was  re-elected  to 
the  National  Convention,  and  voted  for  the  death  of  the  King.  He 
was  then  appointed  president,  and  soon  afterwards  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  public  safety.  In  1795  he  entered  into  the  council  of 
ancients,  and  retired  into  private  life  in  the  year  1803." — Biographic 
Modeme. 


BBBB. 

[Page  287.] 

LlNDET. 

"  Jean  Baptiste  Robert  Lindet,  a  lawyer,  and  attorney-syndic  of  the 
district  of  Bernay,  was  deputy  from  Eure  to  the  Legislature,  where  he 
showed  some  degree  of  moderation;  but  having  afterwards  connected 
himself  with  the  party  of  the  Mountain,  he  was  generally  considered  as 
one  of  the  most  wary  chiefs  of  the  party.  He  voted  for  the  King's 
death  in  the  Convention,  and  proposed  a  scheme  for  organizing  a  revo- 
lutionary tribunal.  In  1799  he  was  summoned  to  the  administration 
of  hnance,  a  place  which  he  retained  till  the  Revolution  of  the  1 8th 
Brumaire." — Biographie  Modern* . 


ccco. 

[Page  303.] 
Chalier. 

"  M.  J.  Chalier,  an  extravagant  Jacobin,  an  inhabitant  of  Lyons,  was 
born  in  1747  at  Beautard,  in  Dauphine,  of  a  Piedmontese  family,  who 
returned  to  their  native  country,  where  he  was  educated.  Ho  embraced 
the  ecclesiastical  profession,  was  driven  from  his  country,  and  after  having 
narrowly  escaped  the  gibbet  in  Portugal,  and  again  in  Naples,  he  unit 
to  Lyons,  was  received  into  the  family  of  a  merchant  as  a  preceptor, 
said  mass  in  that  town  for  about  two  years,  and  at  last  went  into  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  accumulated  a  considerable  fortune  by  dishonesty 
and  trickery.  Ho  joined  the  revolutionary  party  with  an  enthusiasm 
bordering  on  madness;  and  went  to  Paris,  where  he  spoilt  six  months 
with  Marat  to  profit  by  his  lessons.  On  his  return  to  Lyons  he  was 
appointed  municipal  officer,  and  all  his  colleagues  were  ready  to  second 
his  fury.  The  mayor  alone  sought  to  oppose  their  efforts.  Twelve 
hundred  citizens  had  been  imprisoned.  Chalier,  despairing  of  their 
condemnation,  appeared  in    1793  in   the  central  society  with  a   poniard 

VOL.  II.  ■><'' 


434  APPENDICES. 

in  his  hand,  and  obtained  a  decree  that  a  tribunal,  similar  to  those  at 
Paris  which  had  committed  the  September  massacres,  should  be  estab- 
lished on  the  Quay  St.  Clair,  with  a  guillotine,  that  nine  hundred 
persons  should  there  be  executed,  and  their  bodies  thrown  into  the 
Rhone,  and  that  in  case  executioners  should  be  wanting,  the  members 
of  the  society  should  themselves  perform  this  office.  The  mayor,  at 
the  head  of  the  armed  force,  prevented  this  horrible  execution ;  but 
he  could  not  obtain  the  trial  of  several  members  who  had  been  seized. 
The  people  of  Lyons,  irritated  at  length  by  such  tyranny,  raised  the 
standard  of  war  against  the  Convention,  and  delivered  Chalier  to  a 
tribunal  which  condemned  him  to  death  in  1793." — Biographic  Modeme. 


DDDD. 

[Page  308.] 
Cathelineau. 

"  Jacques  Cathelineau  was  a  wool-dealer  of  the  village  of  Pin  en 
Mauges,  who  took  the  resolution  of  standing  up  for  his  King  and 
country,  facing  the  evils  which  were  not  to  be  avoided,  and  doing  his 
duty  manfully  in  arms.  His  wife  entreated  him  not  to  form  this 
perilous  resolution ;  but  this  was  no  time  for  such  humanities ;  so, 
leaving  his  work,  he  called  the  villagers  about  him,  and  succeeded  in 
inducing  them  to  take  up  arms." — Quarterly  Revieiv. 


EEEE. 

[Page  308.] 

Stofflet. 

"  Stofflet  was  at  the  head  of  the  parishes  on  the  side  of  Maulevrier. 
He  was  from  Alsace,  and  had  served  in  a  Swiss  regiment.  He  was  a 
large  and  muscular  man,  forty  years  of  age.  The  soldiers  did  not 
like  him,  as  he  was  harsh  and  absolutely  brutal ;  but  they  obeyed  him 
better  than  any  other  officer,  which  rendered  him  extremely  useful.  He 
was  active,  intelligent,  and  brave,  and  the  generals  had  great  confidence 
in  him." — Memoirs  of  the  Marchioness  de  Larochejaquelein. 


FFFF. 

[Page  311.] 

Francois  Athanasius  Charette. 

"  Charette,  who  was  of  a  noble  and  ancient  Breton  family,  and  in  his 
thirtieth  year,  was  living  upon  his  estates  when  the  insurgents  called  on 
him  to  take  the  command.  He  refused  at  first,  and  pointed  out  to  them 
the  perilous  consequences  of  so  rash  a  measure  ;  a  second  time  they  came, 


APPENDICES.  435 

and  were  a  second  time  dismissed  with  the  same  prudential  advice.  But 
a  week  after  Cathelineau  had  raised  the  standard  in  Anjou,  the  insurgents 
again  appeared,  and  declared  they  would  put  him  to  death  unless  he 
consented  to  be  their  leader.  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  you  force  me  to  it :  I 
will  lead  you  on ;  but  remember  that  you  obey  me,  or  I  will  punish  you 
severely.'  An  oath  of  obedience  was  voluntarily  taken ;  and  the  chief 
and  people  swore  to  combat  and  die  for  the  re-establishment  of  their 
religion  and  the  monarchy.  Turreau  calls  Charette  the  most  ferocious 
of  all  the  rebel  chiefs." — Quarterly  Review. 

"  Charette  was  a  sensualist.  He  loved  women  very  much  for  his 
own  sake — very  little  for  theirs  ;  always  won  by  them,  but  never  sub- 
jected, he  gave  himself  up  to  the  impulse  of  passion,  without  bending 
his  soul  to  the  insinuating  and  sometimes  perfidious  blandishments  of 
a  mistress." — Le  Bouvier-JJesmortiers. 


GGGG. 
[Pog»3ii.] 

Generals  Bonchamps  and  d'Elbee. 

"  M.  de  Bonchamps,  chief  of  the  army  of  Anjou,  was  thirty-two  years 
old,  and  had  served  with  distinction  in  India.  His  valour  and  talents 
were  unquestioned.  He  was  considered  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  chiefs, 
and  his  troops  as  the  best  disciplined.  He  had  no  ambition,  no  preten- 
sions, was  gentle,  of  an  easy  temper,  much  loved  by  the  army,  and  pos- 
sessing its  confidence.  In  the  grand  army  the  principal  chief  at  one 
time  was  M.  d'Elbee,  who  commanded  particularly  the  people  round 
Chollet  and  Beaupreau.  He  had  been  a  sub-lieutenant,  and  retired  for 
some  years  ;  he  was  forty,  of  a  small  stature,  extremely  devout,  enthu- 
siastic, and  possessed  an  extraordinary  and  calm  courage.  His  vanity, 
however,  was  easily  wounded,  which  made  him  irritable,  although  cere- 
moniously polite.  He  had  some  ambition ;  but  his  views  were  narrow. 
His  tactics  consisted  in  rushing  on  with  these  words:  'My  friends, 
Providence  will  give  us  the  victory.'  His  piety  was  very  sincere ;  but  as 
he  found  it  was  a  means  of  animating  the  peasants,  he  carried  it  to  a 
degree  of  affectation  often  ridiculous.  He  carried  about  his  person 
images  of  saints,  and  talked  so  much  of  Providence  that  tho  peasants, 
much  as  they  loved  him,  used  to  call  him,  without  meaning  a  joke, 
•  <  reneral  Providence.'  But  in  spite  of  these  foibles,  M.  d'Elbee  inspired 
every  one  with  respect  and  attachment." — Memoirs  of  the  Marchioness  de 
Larochejaqueleiu. 


HHHH. 

[Page  312.] 

The  Marquis  de  Lescdre. 

"The  Marquis  de  Lcscure  was  born  in  1766.  Among  the  young 
people  of  his  own  age  none  was  better  informed,  more  virtuous  in  every 
reaped  ;  he  w;is  at  the  same  time  so  modest  that  he  seemed  ashamed 


436  APPENDICES. 

of  his  own  merit,  and  his  endeavour  was  to  conceal  it.  He  was  timid 
and  awkward,  and  although  of  a  good  height  and  figure,  his  manners  and 
unfashionable  dress  might  not  be  prepossessing  at  first.  He  was  born 
with  strong  passions,  yet  he  conducted  himself  with  the  most  perfect 
correctness.  He  took  the  sacrament  every  fortnight,  and  his  constant 
habit  of  resisting  all  external  seductions  had  rendered  him  rather  un- 
social and  reserved.  His  temper  was  always  equal,  his  calmness  unalter- 
able, and  he  passed  his  time  in  study  and  meditation." — Memoirs  of  the 
Marchioness  de  Larochejaquelein. 


IIII. 
[Page  312.] 

Larochejaquelein. 

Henri  de  Larochejaquelein  was  twenty  years  old  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  in  La  Vendee.  He  had  lived  little  in  the  world  ;  and  his 
manners  and  laconic  expressions  had  something  in  them  remarkably 
simple  and  original.  There  was  much  sweetness  as  well  as  elevation  in 
his  countenance.  Although  bashful,  his  eyes  were  quick  and  animated. 
He  was  tall  and  elegant,  had  fair  hair,  an  oval  face,  and  the  contour 
rather  English  than  French.  He  excelled  in  all  exercises,  particularly 
in  horsemanship.  When  he  first  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  insur- 
rection he  said  to  his  soldiers,  '  My  friends,  I  am  but  a  boy,  but  by  my 
courage  I  shall  show  myself  worthy  of  commanding  you.  Follow  me  if 
I  go  forward — kill  me  if  I  fly — avenge  me  if  I  fall.'" — Memoirs  of  the 
Marchioness  de  Larochejaquelein. 


JJJJ. 

[Page  318:] 

General  Houchard. 

"  J.  N.  Houchard  was  born  at  Forbach.  He  entered  the  service  very 
young,  was  at  first  a  common  soldier,  obtained  rapid  promotion  during 
the  Revolution,  and  in  1792  was  made  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  cavalry 
hussars.  In  1793  ne  obtained  the  chief  command  of  the  army  of  the 
Rhine  in  the  place  of  Custines,  and  in  the  same  year  passed  to  that  of 
the  North.  Without  possessing  great  military  talents,  Houchard  was 
bold  and  active,  and  defeated  the  Allies  in  several  battles.  Under  pre- 
tence that  he  had  neglected  his  duty,  the  Jacobins  brought  Houchard 
before  the  revolutionary  tribunal,  which  condemned  him  to  the  scaffold 
in  1793. — Biographie  Moderne. 


APPENDICES.  437 

KKKK. 

[Page  325.] 

Henei  Lariviere. 

"P.  F.  J.  Henri  Lariviere,  a  lawyer  at  Falaise,  was  in  1791  deputed 
from  Calvados  to  the  Legislative  Assembly.  Being  re-elected  to  the 
Convention,  he  proposed  the  exile  of  Louis  till  there  should  be  a  peace. 
Shortly  afterwards,  when  the  struggle  arose  between  the  Mountain  and 
the  Gironde,  he  took  a  decided  part  in  favour  of  the  latter.  He  was  one 
of  the  twelve  commissioners  appointed  to  put  an  end  to  the  conspiracies 
of  the  municipality  of  Paris,  but  gave  up  the  cause  by  resigning  in  the 
midst  of  the  denunciations  directed  against  it.  Having  contrived  to 
remain  concealed  during  the  Reign  of  Terror,  Lariviere  joined  the 
Council  of  Five  Hundred,  and  inveighed  strongly  against  the  Jacobins. 
Some  time  afterwards  he  went  to  England,  and  joined  the  partisans  of 
the  Bourbons." — Bioyrayltie  Moderne. 


LLLL. 

[Pwge  335.] 

HERAULT   DE   S&CHELLES. 

"  M.  J.  Herault  de  Sechelles,  born  at  Paris  in  1760,  began  his  career 
at  the  bar  by  holding  the  office  of  King's  advocate  at  the  Chatelet. 
In  the  house  of  Madame  de  Polignac,  where  he  visited,  he  met  the 
Queen,  who,  delighted  with  his  conversation,  promised  to  befriend  him. 
Having  eagerly  embraced  revolutionary  notions,  he  was  appointed 
commissioner  of  government  to  the  tribunal  of  cassation,  and  was 
afterwards  deputed  to  the  original  legislature,  as  also  to  the  Con- 
vention, on  becoming  a  member  of  which  he  joined  the  revolutionary 
part  of  that  body  with  uncommon  ardour.  Herault  was  absent  from 
Paris  during  the  King's  trial,  but  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Convention, 
declaring  that  he  deserved  death.  In  the  contest  that  afterwards 
took  place  between  the  Mountain  and  the  Gironde,  Herault  figured  in 
the  Convention  among  the  most  conspicuous  and  zealous  supporters  of 
the  former  faction.  Having  made  himself  obnoxious  to  Robespierre, 
he  was  sentenced  to  death  in  1794.  He  then  gave  himself  up  for  a 
time  to  gloomy  reflections,  -walked  for  above  two  hours  with  the 
oilier  captives  in  tin:  prison  while  waiting  the  moment  of  execution, 
and  took  leave  of  them  with  great  tranquillity.  Herault  enjoyed  a 
vrery  considerable  fortune;  his  figure  was  elegant,  his  countenance 
pleasing,  and  his  dress  studied,  which  during  the  reign  of  sans-culottism 
drew  on  him  many  sarcasms  from  his  colleagues.  In  the  midst  of  the 
blood   and  tears  which  drenched    France   in    1793  he  still  found  leisure 

for  gallantry  and  poetry,  which  made  no  slight  Lmpressi a  the  young 

and  beautiful  wife  of  Camille-Desmoulins."  —  Biographie  Moderne. 

"  Herault  de  Sechelles  was  the  author  of  that  ridiculous  code  of 
anarchy,  the  constitution  of  1793." — Mcrciir. 


438  APPENDICES. 

MMMM. 

[Page  338.] 

Theroigne  de  Mericourt. 

"  Theroigne  de  Mericourt,  a  celebrated  courtesan,  born  in  Luxem- 
bourg, acted  a  distinguished  part  during  the  first  years  of  the  French 
Revolution.  She  was  connected  with  various  chiefs  of  the  popular 
party,  and  served  them  usefully  in  most  of  the  insurrections.  Above 
all,  in  1789,  at  Versailles,  she  assisted  in  corrupting  the  regiment  of 
Flanders  by  taking  into  the  ranks  other  girls  of  whom  she  had  the 
direction,  and  distributing  money  to  the  soldiers.  In  1790  she  was 
sent  to  Liege  to  assist  the  people  to  rise  there ;  but  the  Austrians 
arrested  her  in  1791  and  took  her  to  Vienna.  Here  the  Emperor 
Leopold  had  an  exciting  interview  with  her,  and  set  her  at  liberty  in 
the  course  of  a  short  time.  In  1792  she  returned  to  Paris,  and  showed 
herself  again  on  the  theatre  of  the  Revolution.  She  appeared  with 
a  pike  in  her  hand  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  women,  frequently 
harangued  the  clubs,  and  particularly  signalized  herself  on  the  10th  of 
August.  During  the  Reign  of  Terror  she  was  placed  in  a  madhouse ; 
and  among  the  papers  of  St.  Just  was  found  a  letter  from  her,  dated 
1794,  in  which  is  seen  the  wandering  of  a  disordered  imagination." — 
Biographie  Modeme. 


NNNN. 

IPaffe  339.] 

Capture  of  Fontenay. 

"  On  the  24th  of  May,  towards  mid-day,  the  Vendeans  approached 
Fontenay,  and  found  ten  thousand  republicans,  with  a  powerful  train  of 
artillery,  waiting  for  them.  Before  the  attack  the  soldiers  received 
absolution.  Their  generals  then  said  to  them,  '  Now,  friends,  we  have 
no  powder  ;  we  must  take  these  cannon  with  clubs.'  The  soldiers  of 
M.  de  Lescure,  who  commanded  the  left  wing,  hesitated  to  follow  him. 
He  therefore  advanced  alone,  thirty  paces  before  them.  A  -battery  of 
six  pieces  fired  upon  him  with  case  shot.  His  clothes  were  pierced — 
his  left  spur  carried  away — his  right  boot  torn — but  he  himself  was  not 
wounded.  The  peasants  took  courage  and  rushed  on.  At  that  moment, 
perceiving  a  large  crucifix,  they  threw  themselves  on  their  knees  before 
it.  They  soon  rose  and  again  rushed  on.  Meantime  Larochejaquelein, 
at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  charged  successfully.  The  republican  horse 
fied  ;  but  instead  of  pursuing  them,  they  turned  on  the  flank  of  the 
left  wing,  and  broke  through  it.  This  decided  the  victory.  Lescure 
was  the  first  to  reach  the  gate  of  the  town  with  his  left  wing,  and 
entered  it ;  but  his  peasants  had  not  courage  to  follow  him.  M.  de 
Bonchamps  and  M.  de  Foi'et  perceived  his  danger,  and  darted  forward 
to  his  assistance.  These  three  had  the  temerity  to  penetrate  alone  into 
the  streets,  but  were  soon  followed  by  their  soldiers.  The  battle  of 
Fontenay,  the  most  brilliant  the  Vendeans  had  yet   fought,  procured 


APPENDICES.  439 

them  forty  pieces  of  cannon,  many  muskets,  a  great  quantity  of  powder, 
and  ammunition  of  all  kinds.  They  took  also  two  boxes,  one  of  which 
contained  nearly  900,000  francs,  and  was  kept  for  the  use  of  their  army. 
There  was  considerable  embarrassment  respecting  the  republican  prisoners, 
whose  numbers  amounted  to  three  or  four  thousand.  My  father  pro- 
posed to  cut  off  their  hair,  which  would  secure  their  being  known  again, 
and  punished  if  taken  a  second  time;  the  measure  was  adopted,  and 
occasioned  much  mirth  among  our  people." — Memoirs  of the  Marchioness 
de  Larochejaquelein. 


0000. 
[Page  339.] 
Speeches  of  Robespierre. 

The  real  sentiments  of  Robespierre  relative  to  the  31st  of  May  are 
manifest  from  the  speeches  which  he  made  at  the  Jacobins,  where  men 
spoke  out  much  more  freely  than  in  the  Assembly,  and  where  they  con- 
spired openly.  Extracts  from  his  speeches  at  various  important  periods 
will  show  the  train  of  his  ideas  in  regard  to  the  groat  catastrophe  of 
the  days  between  the  31st  of  May  and  the  2nd  of  June.  His  first 
speech,  delivered  on  occasion  of  the  pillages  in  the  month  of  February, 
affords  a  first  indication. 

Sitting  of  February  25,    1793. — "As   I  have   always   loved  humanity, 
and  never  sought  to  flatter  any  man,  I  will  proclaim  the  truth.     This 
is  a  plot  hatched  against  the  patriots  themselves.     It  is  intriguers  who 
want  to  ruin  the  patriots.     There  is  in  the  heart  of  the  people  a  just 
feeling   of   indignation.      I   have  maintained,  amidst   persecutions,  and 
unsupported,  that   the   people   are  never  wrong;   1  have  dared  to  pro- 
claim this  truth  at  a  time  when  it  was  not  yet  recognized  ;  the  course 
of  the  Revolution  has  developed  it.     The  people  have  so  often  heard  the 
law  invoked  by  those  who  were  desirous  to  bring  them  beneath  their 
yoke,  that  they  are  distrustful  of  that  language.     The  people  are  suf- 
fering; they  have  not  yet  reaped  the  fruit  of  their  labours;  the)r  are 
yet  persecuted  by  the  rich,  and  the  rich  are  still  what  they  always  were, 
that  is,  hard-hearted  and  unfeeling.     (Applause.)    The  people  see  the 
insolence  of  those  who  have  betrayed  them;  they  see  wealth  accumu- 
lated in   their  hands;   they  feel  their  own  poverty;   they  feel  not  the 
necessity  of  taking  the  means  for  attaining  their  aim;  and  when  you 
talk  the  language  of  reason  to  them  they  listen  only  to  their  indigna- 
tion  against   the   rich,  and   suffer   themselves  to   be   hurried   into  false 
measures  by  those  who  seize  their  confidence  for  the  purpose  of  ruining 
them.     There  are  two  causes — the  first,  a    natural    disposition   in   the 
people  to  relieve  their  wants,  a,  disposition  natural  ami  legitimate  in 
itself:  the  people  believe  that  in  the  absence  of  protecting  laws  they 
have  a  right  to  provide  themselves  for  their  necessities.     There   is  a 
second  cause.     That  cause  consists  in  the  perfidious  designs  of   the 

enemies   of    liberty,   of    the   enemies   of    the    people,    who   are    well    awaio 

that  the  only  means  of  delivering  us  up  to  the  foreign  powers  is  to 

alarm  the  people  on  account  of   their  supply  of   provisions,  and  to  render 

them  the  victims  of  the  excesses  thence  resulting.     I  have  myself  been 


440  APPENDICES. 

an  eye-witness  of  the  disturbances.  Beside  the  honest  citizens,  we  have 
seen  foreigners  and  opulent  men,  dressed  in  the  respectable  garb  of 
sans-culottes.  We  have  heard  them  say,  'We  were  promised  abundance 
after  the  death  of  the  King,  and  now  that  there  is  no  King  we  are  more 
wretched  than  ever.'  We  have  heard  them  declaim,  not  against  the 
intriguing  and  counter-revolutionary  part  of  the  Convention,  which  sits 
where  sat  the  aristocrats  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  but  against  the 
Mountain,  against  the  deputation  of  Paris,  against  the  Jacobins,  whom 
they  represented  as  forestallers.  I  do  not  tell  you  that  the  people  are 
culpable ;  I  do  not  tell  you  that  their  riots  are  a  crime ;  but  when  the 
people  rise,  ought  they  not  to  have  an  aim  that  is  worthy  of  them? 
But  ought  paltry  shop-goods  to  engage  their  attention  ?  They  derive 
no  benefit  from  them,  for  the  loaves  of  sugar  were  taken  away  by  the 
valets  of  the  aristocracy  ;  and  supposing  that  they  had  profited  by  them, 
what  are  the  inconveniences  that  might  thence  result  ?  Our  adversaries 
wish  to  frighten  all  who  possess  any  property ;  they  wish  to  persuade 
men  that  our  system  of  liberty  and  equality  is  subversive  of  all  order, 
all  security.  The  people  ought  to  rise,  not  to  carry  off  sugar,  but  to 
crush  the  brigands.  {Applause.)  Need  I  picture  to  you  past  dangers  ? 
You  had  nearly  fallen  a  prey  to  the  Prussians  and  Austrians :  a  nego- 
tiation was  on  foot ;  and  those  who  then  trafficked  with  your  liberty  are 
the  same  that  have  excited  the  present  disturbances.  I  declare  in  the 
face  of  the  friends  of  liberty  and  equality,  in  the  face  of  the  nation,  that 
in  the  month  of  September,  after  the  affair  of  the  ioth  of  August,  it 
was  decided  in  Paris  that  the  Prussians  should  advance  without  obstacle 
to  this  capital." 

Sitting  of  May  8,  1793. — "We  have  to  wage  an  external  and  an  in- 
ternal war.  The  civil  war  is  kept  up  by  the  enemies  of  the  interior. 
The  army  of  La  Vendee,  the  army  of  Bretagne,  and  the  army  of 
Coblentz  are  directed  against  Paris,  that  citadel  of  liberty.  People  of 
Paris !  the  tyrants  are  arming  against  you,  because  you  are  the  most 
estimable  portion  of  humanity ;  the  great  powers  of  Europe  are  rising 
against  you ;  all  the  corrupt  men  in  France  are  seconding  their,  efforts. 
After  you  have  formed  a  conception  of  this  vast  plan  of  your  enemies, 
you  ought  easily  to  guess  the  means  of  defending  yourselves.  I  do  not 
tell  you  my  secret ;  I  have  manifested  it  in  the  bosom  of  the  Convention. 
I  will  reveal  to  you  this  secret,  and  were  it  possible  that  this  duty  of 
the  representative  of  a  free  people  could  be  deemed  a  crime,  still  I  would 
confront  all  dangers  to  confound  the  tyrants  and  to  save  liberty.  I  said 
this  morning  in  the  Convention  that  the  partisans  of  Paris  should  go 
forth  to  meet  the  villains  of  La  Vendee,  that  they  should  take  along 
with  them  by  the  way  all  their  brethren  of  the  departments,  and  exter- 
minate all,  yes,  all  the  rebels  at  once.  I  said  that  all  the  patriots  at 
home  ought  to  rise,  and  take  away  the  capacity  for  mischief  both  from 
the  aristocrats  of  La  Vendee,  and  the  aristocrats  disguised  under  the 
mask  of  patriotism.  I  said  that  the  rebels  of  La  Vendee  had  an  army 
in  Paris ;  I  said  that  the  generous  and  sublime  people,  who  for  five  years 
have  borne  the  weight  of  the  Revolution,  ought  to  take  the  necessary 
precautions  that  our  wives  and  our  children  may  not  be  delivered  up 
to  the  counter-revolutionary  knife  of  the  enemies  whom  Paris  contains 
in  its  bosom.  None  dared  dispute  this  principle.  These  measures  are 
of  urgent,  of  imperative  necessity.  Patriots,  fly  to  meet  the  banditti 
of  La  Vendee.  They  are  formidable  only  because  the  precaution  had 
been  taken  to  disarm  the  people.  Paris  must  send  forth  republican 
legions ;  but  while  we  are  making  our  domestic  enemies  tremble,  it  is 


APPENDICES.  44 1 

not  right  that  our  wives  and  our  children  should  be  exposed  to  the  fury 
of  the  aristocracy.  I  proposed  two  measures  :  the  first,  that  Paris  should 
send  two  legions  sufficient  to  exterminate  all  the  wretches  who  have 
dared  to  raise  the  standard  of  rebellion.  I  demanded  that  all  the  aris- 
tocrats, all  the  Feuillans,  all  the  moderates,  should  be  expelled  from  the 
sections  which  they  poisoned  with  their  impure  breath.  I  demanded 
that  all  suspected  citizens  should  be  put  under  arrest.  I  demanded 
that  the  quality  of  suspected  citizens  should  not  be  determined  by 
the  quality  of  ci-devant  nobles,  procureurs,  financiers,  and  tradesmen.  1 
demanded  that  all  citizens  who  have  given  proof  of  incivism  may  be 
imprisoned  till  the  end  of  the  war,  and  that  we  may  have  an  imposing 
attitude  before  our  enemies.  I  said  that  it  was  requisite  to  procure  for 
the  people  the  means  of  attending  the  sections  without  prejudice  to  its 
means  of  existence,  and  that  to  this  end  the  Convention  .should  decree 
that  every  artisan  living  by  his  labour  should  be  paid  for  all  the  time 
that  he  might  be  obliged  to  keep  himself  under  arms,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  tranquillity  in  Paris.  I  demanded  that  the  necessary  millions 
should  be  appropriated  to  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  pikes,  for  the 
purpose  of  arming  all  the  sans-culottcs  of  Paris.  I  demanded  that 
forges  and  workshops  should  be  erected  in  the  public  places,  that  all 
the  citizens  might  be  witnesses  of  the  fidelity  and  activity  of  the  opera- 
tions. I  demanded  that  all  the  public  functionaries  should  be  displaced 
by  the  people.  I  demanded  that  the  municipality  and  the  department 
of  Paris,  which  possesses  the  confidence  of  the  people,  should  cease  to 
be  shackled.  I  demanded  that  the  factious  who  are  in  the  Convention 
should  cease  to  calumniate  the  people  of  Paris,  and  that  the  journalists 
who  pervert  the  public  opinion  should  be  reduced  to  silence.  All  these 
measures  are  necessary,  and  to  sum  up,  here  is  the  acquittal  of  the  debt 
which  I  have  contracted  towards  the  people.  I  demanded  that  the 
people  should  make  an  effort  to  exterminate  the  aristocrats  who  exist 
everywhere.  {Aptplm^c.)  I  demanded  that  there  should  be  in  the 
bosom  of  Paris  an  army,  not  like  that  of  Dumouriez,  but  a  popular 
army,  which  should  be  continually  under  arms  to  overawe  the  Feuillans 
and  the  moderates;  this  army  to  be  composed  of  paid  sans-cvXottes.  I 
demand  that  there  be  assigned  to  it  sufficient  funds  for  arming  the 
artisans  and  all  good  patriots ;  I  demand  that  they  be  at  all  the  posts, 
and  that  their  imposing  majesty  make  all  the  aristocrats  turn  pale.  I 
demand  that  to-morrow  forges  be  erected  in  all  the  public  places,  where 
fire-arms  shall  be  manufactured  for  arming  the  people.  I  demand  that 
the  executive  council  be  charged  with  the  execution  of  these  measures 
upon  its  responsibility.  If  there  be  any  who  resist,  if  there  be  any 
wlio  favour  the  enemies  <>f  liberty,  let  them  to-morrow  be  driven  away. 
1  demand  that  the  constituted  authorities  be  charged  to  superintend 
the  execution  of  these  measures,  and  that  they  bear  in  mind  that  they 
are  the  representatives  of  a  city  which  is  the  bulwark  of  liberty,  and 
whose  existence  renders  counter-revolution  impossible.  In  this  critical 
moment  duty  commands  all  patriots  to  save  the  country  by  the  must 
vigorous  means,  [f  you  suffer  the  patriots  to  be  slaughtered  in  detail, 
all  that  is  most  virtuous  on  earth  will  be  annihilated;  it  is  for  you  to 
see  if  you  will  save  the  human  race."  All  the  members  rose  by  a  simul- 
taneous impulse,and  waving  their  hats,  cried,  "  Fes,  yes,  w  will."  "  It  is 
because  your  glory,  your  happiness,  are  at  slake,  and  it  is  from  this 
motive  alone  that  1  conjure  you  to  watch  over  the  welfare  of  the 
country.  You  conceive,  perhaps,  that  you  ought  to  revolt,  that  you 
ought   to  assume   the  air  of   insurrection:    no  such   thing;    it    is   law   in 


442  APPENDWES. 

hand  that  we  must  exterminate  all  our  enemies.  It  is  with  consum- 
mate impudence  that  the  unfaithful  representatives  have  attempted 
to  separate  the  people  of  Paris  from  the  departments,  that  they  have 
attempted  to  separate  the  people  of  the  tribunes  from  the  people  of 
Paris,  as  if  it  were  a  fault  in  us  that  we  have  made  all  possible  sacrifices 
to  enlarge  our  tribunes  for  the  whole  population  of  Paris.  I  say  that  I 
am  speaking  to  the  whole  population  of  Paris,  and  if  it  were  assembled 
in  this  place,  if  it  were  to  hear  me  plead  its  cause  against  Buzot  and  Bar- 
baroux,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  it  would  range  itself  on  my  side. 
Citizens,  people  magnify  our  dangers  ;  they  represent  the  foreign  armies 
united  with  the  rebels  of  the  interior  ;  but  what  can  their  efforts  accom- 
plish against  millions  of  intrepid  sans-culottes  ?  And  if  you  adopt  this 
proposition  that  one  freeman  is  worth  a  hundred  slaves,  you  may  easily 
calculate  that  your  force  surpasses  that  of  all  the  powers  put  together. 
You  have  in  the  laws  all  that  is  requisite  for  exterminating  our  enemies 
legally.  You  have  aristocrats  in  the  sections :  expel  them.  You  have 
liberty  to  save :  proclaim  the  rights  of  liberty,  and  exercise  all  your 
energy.  You  have  an  immense  host  of  sans-culottes,  very  pure,  very 
vigorous :  they  cannot  leave  their  work ;  make  the  rich  pay  them. 
You  have  a  National  Convention ;  it  is  very  possible  that  the  members 
of  that  Convention  are  not  all  alike  friends  of  liberty  and  equality ; 
but  the  greater  number  are  determined  to  support  the  rights  of  the 
people  and  to  save  the  republic.  The  gangrened  portion  of  the  Con- 
vention will  not  prevent  the  people  from  fighting  the  aristocrats. 
Do  you  then  conceive  that  the  Mountain  of  the  Convention  will  not 
have  sufficient  strength  to  curb  all  the  partisans  of  Dumouriez,  of 
Orleans,  and  of  Coburg  ?  Indeed,  you  cannot  think  so.  If  liberty 
succumbs,  it  will  be  less  the  fault  of  the  representatives  than  of  the 
sovereign  !  People !  forget  not  that  your  destiny  is  in  your  hands ; 
it  is  your  duty  to  save  Paris  and  mankind ;  if  you  fail  to  do  it  you  are 
guilty.  The  Mountain  needs  the  people ;  the  people  are  supported  by 
the  Mountain.  They  strive  to  alarm  you  in  every  way ;  they  want  'm 
make  us  believe  that  the  departments  are  enemies  to  the  Jaeobins.  I 
declare  to  you  that  Marseilles  is  the  everlasting  friend  of  the  Mountain ; 
that  at  Lyons  the  patriots  have  gained  a  complete  victory.  I  sum  up, 
and  demand,  ist,  that  the  sections  raise  an  army  sufficient  to  form 
the  nucleus  of  a  revolutionary  army,  that  shall  collect  all  the  sans- 
culottes of  the  departments  to  exterminate  the  rebels ;  2nd,  that  an 
army  of  sans-culottes  be  raised  in  Paris  to  overawe  the  aristocracy ; 
3rd,  that  dangerous  intriguers,  that  all  the  aristocrats,  be  put  in  a  state 
of  arrest ;  that  the  sans-culottes  be  paid  at  the  expense  of  the  public 
exchequer,  which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  rich,  and  that  this  measure 
extend  to  the  whole  of  the  republic.  I  demand  that  forges  be  erected 
in  all  the  public  places.  I  demand  that  the  commune  of  Paris  keep 
up  with  all  its  power  the  revolutionary  zeal  of  the  people  of  Paris.  1 
demand  that  the  revolutionary  tribunal  make  it  a  duty  to  punish  those 
who  lately  have  blasphemed  the  republic.  I  demand  that  this  tribunal 
bring  without  delay  to  exemplary  punishment  certain  generals,  taken 
in  the  fact,  and  who  ought  already  to  be  tried.  I  demand  that  the 
sections  of  Paris  unite  themselves  with  the  commune  of  Paris,  and 
that  they  counterbalance  by  their  influence  the  perfidious  writings  of 
the  journalists  in  the  pay  of  foreign  powers.  By  taking  all  these 
measures,  without  furnishing  any  pretext  for  saying  that  you  have 
violated  the  laws,  you  will  give  an  impulse  to  the  departments,  which 
will  join  you  for  the  purpose  of  saving  liberty." 


APPENDICES.  443 

Sitting  of  Sunday,  May  12,  1793. — "I  never  could  conceive  how  it  was 
possible  that  in  critical  moments  there  should  be  so  many  men  to  make 
propositions  which  compromise  the  friends  of  liberty,  while  nobody  sup- 
ports those  which  tend  to  save  the  republic.  Till  it  is  proved  to  me 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  arm  the  sans-culottes,  that  it  is  not  right  to 
pay  them  for  mounting  guard,  and  for  assuring  the  tranquillity  of  Paris  ; 
till  it  is  proved  to  me  that  it  is  not  right  to  convert  our  public  places 
into  workshops  for  making  arms,  I  shall  believe  and  I  shall  say  that 
those  who,  setting  aside  these  measures,  propose  to  you  only  partial 
measures,  how  violent  soever  they  may  be,  I  shall  say  that  these  men 
know  nothing  of  the  means  of  saving  the  country  ;  for  it  is  not  till  after 
we  have  tried  all  those  measures  which  do  not  compromise  society  that 
we  ought  to  have  recourse  to  extreme  measures  :  besides,  these  measures 
ought  Lot  to  be  proposed  in  the  bosom  of  a  society  which  should  be  wise 
and  politic.  It  is  not  a  moment  of  transient  agitation  that  will  save 
the  country.  We  have  for  enemies  the  most  artful  and  the  most  supple 
men,  who  have  at  their  disposal  all  the  treasures  of  the  republic.  The 
measures  which  have  been  proposed  have  not  and  cannot  have  any 
result ;  they  have  served  only  to  feed  calumny,  they  have  served  only 
to  furnish  the  journalists  with  pretexts  for  representing  us  in  the  most 
hateful  colours.  When  we  neglect  the  first  means  that  reason  points 
out,  and  without  which  the  public  welfare  cannot  be  brought  about,  it 
is  evident  that  we  are  not  in  the  right  track.  I  shall  say  no  more  of 
that  ;  but  I  declare  that  I  protest  against  all  those  means  which  tend 
only  to  compromise  the  society  without  contributing  to  the  public  wel- 
fare. That  is  my  confession  of  faith;  the  people  will  always  be  able 
to  crush  the  aristocracy;  let  the  society  only  beware  of  committing 
any  gross  blunder.  When  I  see  the  pains  that  are  taken  to  make  the 
society  enemies  to  no  purpose,  to  encourage  the  villains  who  are  striving 
to  destroy  it,  I  am  tempted  to  believe  that  people  are  blind  or  evil- 
disposed.  I  propose  to  the  society  to  resolve  upon  the  measures  which  I 
have  suggested,  and  I  regard  as  extremely  culpable  those  who  do  not 
cause  them  to  be  carried  into  execution.  How  can  such  measures  be 
disapproved  p  How  can  any  one  help  feeling  their  necessity,  and  if 
feeling  it,  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  support  them  and  enforce  their 
adoption?  I  shall  propose  to  the  society  to  listen  to  a  discussion  of 
the  principles  of  the  constitution  that  is  preparing  for  France;  for  it 
must  necessarily  embrace  all  the  plans  of  our  enemies.  If  the  society 
can  demonstrate  the  Machiavelism  of  our  enemies  it  will  not  have 
wasted  its  time.  I  demand,  therefore,  that  setting  aside  unseason- 
able propositions,  the  society  permit  me  to  read  to  it  my  paper  on  the 
constitution." 

Sitting  of  Sunday,  Meg  26,  1793.— "I  said  to  you  that  the  people  ought 
to  repose  upon  their  strength  ;  but  when  tho  people  are  oppressed,  when 
they  have  nothing  left  but  themselves,  he  would  be  a  coward  who  would 
not  bid  them  vise.  It  is  when  all  the  laws  are  violated,  it  is  when 
despotism  is  at  its  height,  it  is  when  good  faith  and  modesty  are 
trampled  under  foot,  that  the  people  ought  to  rise.  That  moment  is 
cMini-  our  enemies  openly  oppress  the  patriots  they  want,  in  the 
name  of  the  law,  t<>  plunge  the  people  back  into  misery  and  slavery. 
Never  will  I  be  the  friend  of  those  corrupt  men,  what  treasures  soever 
fchey  offer  me.  I  would  rather  die  with  republicans  than  triumph  with 
villains.  (Applause.)  I  know  but  two  modes  of  existing  Eor  a  nation 
either  it  governs  itself,  or  it  commits  this  task  to  representatives.  We 
republican  deputies  desire  to  establish  the  government  of  the  people  by 


444  APPENDICES. 

their  representatives,  with  responsibility :  it  is  by  these  principles  that 
we  square  our  opinions  ;  but  most  frequently  we  cannot  obtain  a  hearing. 
A  rapid  signal  given  by  the  president  deprives  us  of  the  right  of  ex- 
pressing our  sentiments.  I  consider  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  people 
is  violated  when  their  representatives  give  to  their  creatures  the  places 
which  belong  to  the  people.  On  these  principles  I  am  deeply  grieved." 
.  .  .  The  speaker  was  here  interrupted  by  the  announcement  of  a 
deputation.  (Tumult.)  "I  shall  continue  to  speak,"  resumed  Robe- 
spierre, "  not  for  those  who  interrupt  one,  but  for  the  republicans.  I 
expect  every  citizen  to  cherish  the  sentiment  of  his  rights ;  I  expect  him 
to  rely  upon  his  strength  and  upon  that  of  the  whole  nation ;  I  exhort 
the  people  to  put  themselves  in  a  state  of  insurrection  in  the  National 
Convention  against  all  the  corrupt  deputies.  (Ajjplause.)  I  declare 
that,  having  received  from  the  people  the  right  to  defend  their  rights,  I 
regard  as  my  oppressor  any  one  who  interrupts  me  or  prevents  me  from 
speaking  ;  and  I  declare  that  I  singly  put  myself  in  a  state  of  insurrec- 
tion against  the  president  and  against  all  the  members  who  sit  in  the 
Convention.  {Applause.)  When  a  culpable  contempt  for  the  sans-culottes 
shall  be  affected,  I  declare  that  I  will  put  myself  in  a  state  of  insur- 
rection against  the  corrupt  deputies.  I  exhort  all  the  Mountaineer 
deputies  to  rally,  and  to  fight  the  aristocracy ;  and  I  say  that  there  is 
but  one  alternative  for  them — either  to  resist  with  all  their  might  the 
efforts  of  intrigues,  or  to  resign.  It  is  requisite  at  the  same  time  that 
the  French  people  should  know  their  rights ;  for  the  faithful  deputies 
can  do  nothing  without  liberty  of  speech.  If  treason  calls  the  foreign 
enemy  into  the  bosom  of  France — if,  when  our  gunners  hold  in  their 
hands  the  thunderbolts  which  are  to  exterminate  the  tyrants  and  their 
satellites,  we  see  the  enemy  approach  our  walls,  then  I  declare  that  I 
will  myself  punish  the  traitors,  and  I  promise  to  consider  every  con- 
spirator as  my  enemy,  and  to  treat  him  accordingly."     (Applause.) 


PPPP. 

[Page  345.] 

Thcriot  Larosiere. 

"  Jacques  Alexandre  Thuriot  Larosiere,  a  barrister  in  the  parliament 
of  Paris,  was  appointed  in  1791  deputy  from  the  Marne  to  the  Legisla- 
ture ;  and  being  afterwards  appointed  to  the  Convention,  demanded  that 
the  King  should  be  tried  within  three  days,  and  sentenced  to  lose  his 
head  on  the  scaffold.  In  the  same  year  he  attacked  the  Girondins,  and 
accused  them  of  having  intrigued  to  uphold  the  throne.  He  was  after- 
wards named  president,  and  then  member  of  the  committee  of  public 
safety.  After  the  overthrow  of  Robespierre  and  his  party,  Thuriot  pre- 
sided in  the  Jacobin  Club,  and  was  some  time  afterwards  employed  by 
the  Directory  in  the  capacity  of  civil  commissioner  to  the  tribunal  of 
Rheims.  In  1805  he  was  made  member  of  the  Legion  of  Honour." — 
Biographie  Moderne. 


APPENDICES.  445 

QQQQ. 

[Page  348.] 

COUTHON. 

"  J.  Couthon,  surnamed  Cato  during  the  Reign  of  Terror,  was  born 
at  Orsay  in  1756,  and  was  an  advocate  at  Clermont.  He  was  deputed 
to  the  Legislature  and  the  Convention.  Before  this  period  he  enjoyed 
in  his  own  country  a  reputation  for  gentleness  and  integrity  ;  yet  he 
embraced  the  revolutionary  principles  with  astonishing  eagerness,  and 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Convention  showed  himself  the  most  ardent 
partisan  of  sanguinary  measures.  Prudhomme  says,  that  it  was  in 
his  chamber  at  Paris  that  the  Due  d'Orleans,  Danton,  Marat,  Petion, 
Robespierre,  and  others  assembled  to  arrange  the  insurrection  of  the 
10th  of  August  1792.  In  the  following  year  Couthon  voted  for  the 
King's  death,  and  eagerly  opposed  delay.  He  soon  afterwards  attacked 
the  Girondins,  and  became  the  favourite  tool  of  Robespierre.  Being 
sent  to  Lyons,  he  presided  at  the  execution  of  the  rebel  chiefs,  and 
began  to  put  in  force  the  decree  which  ordered  the  demolition  of  that 
city.  Being  afterwards  implicated  with  the  party  of  Robespierre,  the 
armed  force  came  to  seize  him  ;  when  he  perceived  they  were  going  to 
lay  hold  of  him,  he  struck  himself  slightly  with  a  dagger,  and  feigned 
himself  dead.  In  the  year  1794  he  was  executed,  and  suffered  horribly 
before  he  died.  His  singular  conformation,  and  the  dreadful  contraction 
of  his  limbs  at  that  time,  so  incommoded  the  executioner  while  fastening 
him  on  the  plank  of  the  guillotine,  that  he  was  obliged  to  lay  him  on 
his  side  to  give  the  fatal  blow.  His  torture  lasted  longer  than  that  of 
fourteen  other  sufferers." — Biographic  Modcrue. 

"  Couthon  was  a  deci'epit  being,  whose  lower  extremities  were 
paralyzed — whose  benevolence  of  feeling  seemed  to  pour  itself  out  in 
the  most  gentle  expressions,  uttered  in  the  most  melodious  tones — 
whose  sensibility  led  him  constantly  to  foster  a  favourite  spaniel  in  his 
bosom,  that  he  might  have  something  on  which  to  bestow  kindness  and 
caresses — but  who  was  at  heart  as  fierce  as  Danton,  and  as  pitiless  as 
Robespierre." — Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 


RRRR, 

[Page  358.] 
DltOUET. 

"  Joan  Baptiste  Drouet,  postmastor  at  St.  Mom'hould,  was  born  in 
1763.  It  was  ho  who  recognized  the  King  in  his  flight,  and  caused 
him  to  bo  arrested  at  Varennes.  In  1792  he  was  chosen  member  of  the 
Convention,  and  voted  for  the  death  of  Louis.  In  the  autumn  of  the 
following  year  ho  was  sent  to  the  army  of  the  North,  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  carried  to  Moravia  ;  where,  having  attempted  to  escape  by  springing 
from  a  window,  lie  broke  his  leg,  and  was  retaken.  In  1795  '"'  obtained 
his  liberty,  and  entered  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred.     Dissatisfied  with 


446  APPENDICES. 

the  moderate  system  which  then  prevailed  in  France,  he  became,  with 
Babceuf,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Jacobin  conspiracy,  on  which  account 
he  was  arrested,  but  made  his  escape  into  Switzerland.  He  was  finally 
acquitted,  and  returned  to  France.  In  1799  he  was  sub-prefect  at 
St.  Menehould.  During  the  Hundred  Days  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  but  in  1816  was  banished  from  France  as  a 
regicide." — Encyclopaedia  Americana. 


boob. 
[Page  358.] 

JULIEN. 

"  Julien  of  La  Drome,  a  rank  Jacobin,  was  commissioner  of  the 
committee  of  public  safety  during  the  Reign  of  Terror.  After  the 
establishment  of  the  Directory  he  edited  a  journal  entitled  the 
Plebeian  Orator,  the  expenses  of  which  were  defrayed  by  government. 
He  accompanied  the  expedition  to  Egypt  as  war  commissioner,  and  in 
the  year  1806  was  sub-inspector  of  the  revenues." — Biographie  Moderne. 

"  Julien,  when  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  was  sent  from  Paris  on  a 
mission  to  Bordeaux,  to  prevent  an  insurrection  against  the  Moun- 
tain, and  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  Ysabeau  and  Tallien.  Here 
he  made  himself  notorious  by  his  cruelties,  and  was  even  heard  to 
exclaim  one  day  in  the  popular  society,  that  if  milk  was  the  food  of 
old  men,  blood  was  that  of  the  children  of  liberty,  who  rested  on  a 
bed  of  corpses." — Prudhomme. 


TTTT. 

[Page  359.] 

IiAREVEILLIERE-LePEAUX. 

"  Lareveilliere-Lepeaux,  born  in  1753,  studied  at  Angers,  and  after- 
wards went  to  Paris,  intending  to  become  an  advocate  there.  Instead 
of  this,  however,  he  returned  to  his  native  place,  devoted  himself  to 
botany,  and  became  professor  of  that  science  at  Angers,  where  he 
established  a  botanic  garden.  Being  deputed  to  the  States-general, 
he  excited  attention  by  the  hatred  he  showed  to  the  higher  orders.  On 
being  appointed  a  member  of  the  Convention  he  voted  for  the  King's 
death.  Though  attached  to  the  Gironde,  he  managed  to  escape  the 
proscription  of  that  party,  and  lay  concealed  during  the  whole  Reign 
of  Terror.  He  afterwards  became  one  of  the  Council  of  the  Ancients, 
and  then  of  the  Directory.  He  was  unwearied  in  labour,  but  his  want 
of  decision  always  excluded  him  from  any  influence  in  important  affairs, 
and  he  made  himself  ridiculous  by  his  whim  of  becoming  the  chief  of 
the  sect  of  the  Theophilanthropists.  In  1799  he  was  driven  from  the 
Directory,  and  returned  again  to  his  favourite  books  and  plants." — 
Biographic  Modeme. 

"  It  was  well  known  that  the  fear  of  being  hanged  was  Lareveilliere- 
Lepeaux's  ruling  sentiment." — Lacarriere. 


APPENDICES.  447 

uuuu. 

[Page  360.] 

DUSSAULX. 

"  J.  Dussaulx,  born  at  Chartres  in  1728,  was  the  son  of  a  lawyer.  He 
served  in  the  campaign  of  Hanover,  under  Marshal  Richelieu,  and  gained 
the  esteem  of  King  Stanislaus.  Returning  to  Paris,  he  brought  out  a 
translation  of  Juvenal,  and  in  1776  was  made  a  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Inscriptions.  Becoming  a  member  of  the  Convention,  he  voted  for 
the  King's  detention,  and  his  banishment  on  a  peace.  In  1 796  he  was 
appointed  president  of  the  Council  of  Ancients.  He  died  in  1799  after 
a  long  and  afflicting  illness.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works,  of 
which  the  best  is  his  translation  of  Juvenal's  satires." — Biographic 
Moderne, 


WW. 

[Page  360.] 

Boissy  d'Anglas. 

"  Boissy  d'Anglas,  barrister  in  the  parliament,  maitre  d'hdtel  to  Mon- 
sieur, was  in  1789  deputed  to  the  States-general.  In  1792  he  was 
elected  to  the  Convention,  and  voted  for  the  King's  detention  till 
banishment  should  be  thought  proper.  Having  survived  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  he  was  chosen  secretary  to  the  tribune,  and  particularly  entrusted 
with  the  care  of  watching  that  Paris  was  properly  supplied  with  pro- 
visions. In  1795,  a^  the  moment  when  he  was  beginning  a  report  on 
this  subject,  he  was  interrupted  by  a  mob  of  both  sexes,  who,  having 
broken  through  the  guard,  were  crying  out,  '  Bread,  bread,  and  the 
constitution  of  1793.'  This  tumult  having  been  quelled,  a  fresh  one 
broke  out  a  few  days  after,  when  Boissy  d'Anglas,  who  was  seated  in  the 
president's  chair,  was  several  times  aimed  at  by  twenty  guns  at  once. 
One  of  the  rioters  placed  himself  right  before  him,  carrying  at  the  end 
of  a  pike  the  head  of  the  deputy  Ferraud,  when  Boissy  showed  a  coolness 
which  was  not  without  effect  upon  the  mob,  and  for  which  next  day  he 
received  the  universal  applause  of  the  tribune.  In  17116  he  was  appointed 
president  of  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred,  and  in  1805  became  a  member 
of  the  Senate,  and  commandant  of  the  Legion  of  Honour." — Biographic 
Mini,  rne. 


WW  WW. 

[Page  364.] 

Fall  op  the  (Iirondins. 

"Tims  fell,  without  a  blow  struck,  or  sword  drawn  in  their  defence, 
tliat,  party  in  the  Convention  which  claimed  the  praise  of  acting  upon 
pure  republican  principles;  which  had  overturned  the  throne,  and  led 


448  APPENDICES. 

the  way  to  anarchy  merely  to  perfect  an  ideal  theory.  They  fell,  as  the 
wisest  of  them  admitted,  dupes  to  their  own  system,  and  to  the  imprac- 
ticable idea  of  ruling  a  large  and  corrupt  empire  by  the  motives  which 
may  sway  a  small  and  virtuous  community.  They  might,  as  they  too  late 
discovered,  as  well  have  attempted  to  found  the  Capitol  on  a  bottomless 
and  quaking  marsh,  as  their  pretended  republic  in  a  country  like  France. 
Their  violent  revolutionary  expedients,  the  means  by  which  they  acted, 
were  turned  against  them  by  men  whose  ends  were  worse  than  their 
own." — Scott's  Life  of  Napoleon. 

"  Thus  fell  the  Gironde,  the  true  representatives  of  liberty ;  men 
of  enlightened  minds,  of  patriotic  sentiments,  and  mild  and  moderate 
principles ;  but  who  necessarily  gave  place  to  those  men  of  violence  and 
blood,  who,  rising  out  of  the  perilous  and  unnatural  situation  in  which 
the  republic  was  placed,  were  perhaps  alone  fitted,  by  their  furious 
fanaticism  and  disregard  of  all  ordinary  feelings,  to  carry  the  Revolution 
triumphantly  through  its  difficulties,  by  opposing  remorseless  hatred  to 
the  persevering  efforts  of  tyranny  without,  and  cruelty  and  the  thirst 
of  vengeance  to  treachery  and  malice  within.  Virtue  was  not  strong 
enough  for  this  fiery  ordeal,  and  it  was  necessary  to  oppose  the  vices  of 
anarchy  to  the  vices  of  despotism." — HazliWs  Life  of  Napoleon. 


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